Karachi ranked last (58th) among Asian cities on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Livability Index for 2022.

The EIU’s index ranks living conditions in 172 cities. This year, over half the cities added to the list, were from Asia, with Karachi ranking last, scoring 37.5 on the index.

The index judges five categories that indicate livability in the city: culture and environment, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and stability. The average score for Asian cities was 69 in 2022, drastically low compared to the 91 scored by Western Europe cities and 88 scored by North American cities.

Many places in Asia have fallen behind Western cities because of tough lockdowns and strict border controls. For example, in China, due to the pandemic, the rankings of all eight cities in the 2021 index fell. On the other hand, Auckland—a city in New Zealand—plunged by 33 places as a result of the new wave of Covid-19 in the city.

The average rating of Asian cities improved by just 1.4 points since last year, while Western Europe enjoyed a 7.9-point increase and North America enjoyed a 5.4-point increase. These rises were explained by the resuming of cultural and sporting activities as the pandemic restrictions eased. On the other hand, Asian cities continued to lag behind in all categories except infrastructure, which was the most impacted by the pandemic.

Not all of Asia suffered, however. Osaka, a city in Japan, topped the index along with Melbourne in the EIU index. Both these cities had great scores on the education aspect of the index. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, came fourth.