Dhaka is now the fourth least livable city in the world according to this year's Global Liveability Index, rising one step higher than its previous position in the list.
The annual index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranks the most liveable cities in 2021.
Dhaka, which has been significantly influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, came 137th out of 140 cities in this year's index with 33.5 points.
The city ranked 138th in 2019 and 139th in 2018.
Lockdowns in cities in the year 2020 due to the pandemic made it impossible for in-city contributors and analysts of the EIU to collect comprehensive, fair, and representative data, causing the agency to cancel last year's rating.
The EIU's Global Liveability Index is divided into five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Dhaka earned 55 in stability, 16.7 in healthcare, 30.8 in culture and environment, 33.3 in education and 26.8 in infrastructure.
Dhaka is just ahead of Port Moresby of Papua New Guinea, Lagos of Nigeria and war-torn Damascus of Syria, which retains its position as the worst liveable city in the world, according to the Global Liveability Index 2021.
Only Karachi of Pakistan is among other Asian countries to place in the 10 least livable cities, ranking 134th in the index.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic prompted the EIU to put Auckland above Vienna, which dropped out of the top 10.
The island nations of New Zealand, Australia, and Japan fared best in this year's index.
“New Zealand’s tough lockdown allowed their society to reopen and enabled citizens of cities like Auckland and Wellington to enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to pre-pandemic life,” EIU said in a statement.
Simon Baptist, global chief economist at the EIU, said, "Asia has some of the world’s most livable cities, it also has some of the least livable."
New Zealand and Japan dominated the top 10 positions, places like Dhaka, Bangladesh, Karachi, Pakistan and Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, languished near the bottom and have been doing so for a while, he added.
