The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has ranked Lagos the second worst city in its 2022 liveability report.

This is the third time The Economist would rank Lagos the worst city after Syria’s Damascus in three years. Of the 172 cities of the world ranked by the EIU, Lagos ranks 171.

The EIU liveability index is a summary of reports from surveys about the living conditions obtainable in cities around the world. It offers deep insight and analysis of the economic and political developments in the increasingly complex global environment; identifying opportunities, trends and risks on a global and national scale.

READ ALSO: US Advisor: Russia Blocking Food From Entering Africa, America

This year’s surveys took place between February 14 and March 13. EIU monitored and awarded points to cities across the following categories: culture and environment, education, infrastructure, health care and stability. The median score of all categories produced an index score used to rank the cities.

Out of a possible 100 percent in each category, Lagos scored 20 in stability, 20.8 in health care, 44.9 in culture and environment, 25 in education, and 46.4 in infrastructure. Damascus in the war-affected Syria scored higher points than Lagos in health care and education.

READ ALSO: Woman ‘Dies of Shock’ After Demolition of Her N25m Property by Lagos Gov’t

EIU ranked Vienna, Austria’s capital city, first in its liveability index with 100 percent in all categories except culture and environment (96.3 points). Three Canadian cities (Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto) are among EIU’s liveability top ten cities, while Switzerland’s Zurich and Geneva came third and sixth.

Lagos ranked 139 out of 140 in the EIU’s 2021 and 2019 liveability report. The COVID-19 lockdown prevented the survey in 2020. The EIU stated that COVID-19 affected the ranking of several cities in the last two years.

READ ALSO: Lebanese Driving Against Traffic Knocked Down Lagos Lady and Refused to Take Responsibility. Now, She’s Dead

The EIU added 33 new cities to “enhance comparability” in 2022, but Lagos and Damascus sit rock bottom on the liveability index. The 2022 report excludes Kiev, Ukraine’s capital city, because of Russia’s invasion.

According to the EIU, liveability “assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions. Assessing liveability has a broad range of uses, from benchmarking perceptions of development levels to assigning a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages”.