Four African cities have been placed among the world's 10 lowest-ranked urban centres in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Liveability Index 2026, highlighting the persistent impact of insecurity, strained healthcare systems, infrastructure gaps and governance challenges across parts of the continent.
The annual index assessed 173 cities worldwide across five categories which includes stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, to determine how conducive each city is to everyday living.
This year's rankings saw Harare in Zimbabwe, Lagos in Nigeria, Algiers in Algeria and Tripoli in Libya all feature in the bottom 10 globally.
Libya's capital, Tripoli, ranked as Africa's lowest-rated city and the second-lowest globally, placing 172nd with an overall score of 41 out of 100. Only Syria's Damascus ranked lower.
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, was the continent's highest-ranked among the four African cities in the bottom 10, finishing 165th with an overall score of 45. While the city posted a relatively strong education score of 67, its healthcare score of 33 significantly weighed on its overall performance.
