Three of the world’s top liveable cities are in Canada

Three Canadian cities have been ranked among the world's top five most liveable cities.

Yesterday, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its 2012 Global Liveability Report. On it, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Vancouver held top spot for over a decade, slipping to third place last year.

Montreal, the only other Canadian city on the EIU list, was ranked 16th.

Top spots went to Melbourne and Vienna.

The annual survey looked at 140 cities across the globe, and assessed liveability by assigning a score for over 30 factors across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The categories were then weighted and compiled to provide an overall rating of 1 to 100.

Vancouver's impressive score of 97.3 could have been even higher if not for petty crime rates, lack of availability of quality housing and congested road networks, the National Post reports.

The EIU notes that Vancouver is embarking a high-profile projects aimed at tackling transit and congestion issues: "For cities in general, these measures will no doubt have a long-term benefit, but in the short term they can be disruptive."

Likewise, Toronto suffered slightly for its roads, public transit and housing. Calgary's biggest sin? The weather.

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The top ten cities and their scores:

1. Melbourne, Australia — 97.5

2. Vienna, Austria — 97.4

3. Vancouver, B.C. — 97.3

4. Toronto, Ont. — 97.2

5. Calgary, Alta. — 96.6

6. Adelaide, Australia — 96.6

7. Sydney, Australia — 96.1

8. Helsinki, Finland — 96.0

9. Perth, Australia — 95.9

10. Auckland, N.Z. — 95.7

Olympics spirit couldn't help England's cities' rankings. The riots in Manchester and London contributed to their slipped rankings from 42nd to 51st and from 53rd to 55th respectively, the BBC reports.

The least liveable city in the world? Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, with a score of just 38.7. Last year, Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, took last place.