Melbourne named the world's most liveable city for the sixth consecutive year

The world’s most liveable city is still only a short jump across the ditch, with Melbourne being crowned the title for the sixth year running.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Ranking assesses living conditions in 140 cities across the globe by assigning a rating across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Known as Australia’s culture, shopping, music and nightlife capital, and revered for its unique laneways, parks, gardens and creative communities, Melbourne has now enjoyed the top spot in the list for six years in a row.

Each year, Melbourne offers a world-class calendar of major events across the sport, entertainment, culture, industry and lifestyle sectors, adding to the city’s atmosphere and appeal.

Melbourne’s culinary credentials have also been acknowledged with the recent announcement that the city will host the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards in 2017, becoming only the second city outside of London to host the prestigious awards.

The city is increasingly popular as a tourist destination, with a 7% increase in New Zealand visitors (to 324,000) and a 13% increase in all international visitors (to 2.3 million) in the year ending March 2016.

Auckland moved up one place in the rankings this year, announced as eighth on the list.