AUSTRALIA and CANADA dominate a newly released list of the world’s most liveable cities, with Melbourne taking the top spot for the fourth year in a row.

For the 2014 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability survey, 140 cities were evaluated across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure.

And again, the Aussie city of Melbourne topped the list, scoring a perfect 100 in categories like healthcare and education.

The city’s victory is a narrow one.. over Vienna, Austria: All that separates the two cities is 0.7 points in the category of culture and environment.

While Australia snagged four spots in the top 10 list, Canada scored three places, with Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary identified as the most liveable cities in Canada and among the 10 most liveable in the world.

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According to the index, Canada’s strengths are its stability, healthcare and education, all of which received a perfect 100 score.

Where the country falls short is in the category of infrastructure.

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Researchers point out that a closer look at the list reveals common denominators shared by all the top-ranked cities: they tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density.

“This can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure,” the report reads.

Australia and Canada, for instance, have population densities of 2.88 and 3.4 people/km2 respectively. That compares to the global average of 45.65.

Damascus, Syria landed at the bottom of the liveability index, followed by Dhaka, Bangladesh and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

Here are the top 10 liveable cities 2014:

1. Melbourne, Australia
2. Vienna, Austria
3. Vancouver, Canada
4. Toronto, Canada
5. Adelaide, Australia
6. Calgary, Canada
7. Sydney, Australia
8. Helsinki, Finland
9. Perth, Australia
10. Auckland, New Zealand

The world’s bottom 10 cities for liveability

131. Abidjan, Ivory Coast
132. Tripoli, Libya
133. Douala, Cameroon
134. Harare, Zimbabwe
135. Algiers, Algeria
136. Karachi, Pakistan
137. Lagos, Nigeria
138. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
139. Dhaka, Bangladesh
140. Damascus, Syria