Islamabad, July 8 (IANS) Pakistan’s Karachi has been ranked as the world’s fourth least liveable city on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) annual Global Liveability Index 2026, placing it 170th among 173 cities, local media reported on Wednesday.
The only cities which have been ranked below Karachi are – Dhaka, Damascus and Tripoli, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported. The EIU’s ranking provides a globally recognised benchmark for urban liveability and resilience and assesses measuring indicators like healthcare, stability, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. It assesses the challenges presented to a person’s lifestyle in any given place.
Karachi received an overall ranking of 43 out of 100 and it scored 20 on stability, 54 on healthcare, 36 in culture and environment, 75 in education and 52 in infrastructure.
Among the most liveable cities in the world, Copenhagen was ranked at the top spot, followed by Vienna and Melbourne.
In June, residents in Pakistan’s Karachi faced difficulties in preparing ‘sehri’ and iftar meals for Ashura due to gas and electricity outages.
K-Electric had claimed that it has exempted several areas from scheduled loadshedding till Muharram 11. However, people in many areas had to use alternate options to ensure electricity during religious gatherings, Dawn reported.
Large parts of the city, including Saddar, Burns Road, Lyari, Clifton, Defence Housing Authority, Federal B. Area, North Karachi, Liaquatabad, Malir, Korangi, Shah Faisal Colony, Orangi Town, Keamari and Baldia Town faced prolonged power cuts.
Gas supply, already short in many areas of Karachi, completely vanished in several regions, especially during iftar, resulting in people struggling to make food during Muharram.
Many residents faced water shortage due to power outages as electricity was needed for pumping water to their taps.
People took to social media to complain about gas and power outages in Karachi. Zafar Hasan, a resident, questioned utility services for their failure to provide services during important days. He said, “Don’t they realise that people should be provided uninterrupted gas and electricity particularly during the observance of religious days when it is needed most?”
In May, the data released by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee stated that Karachi has witnessed a rise in street crime, with people being robbed of hundreds of vehicles and mobile phones alongside an increase in killings and extortion cases from January-April period this year.
During the January-April period, people in Karachi were robbed of 611 cars and 13,346 motorcycles, collectively worth millions of rupees, demonstrating the scale of vehicle-related crime in the metropolis. During the same period, 5,567 mobile phones were stolen from citizens during street crime incidents, Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Incidents related to violence were also reported in Karachi, with 176 people killed in various incidents of murder. Furthermore, 61 cases of extortion were reported during this period.
According to the data, 22 cars were snatched, and 111 were stolen, while 469 motorcycles were snatched and 2,723 were stolen in April alone. During the same 30-day period, 1,624 mobile phones were snatched from people, while 42 people were killed in separate incidents.
–IANS
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