The lowest-rated cities in our index — the honest bottom of the table

Caracas37

Dhaka43

Karachi43

Lagos43

Abidjan44

Affordability

68

72

72

73

68

Safety

14

53

41

28

43

Healthcare

30

43

50

34

24

Career

27

38

43

58

42

Culture & food

53

51

50

68

54

Public life & spaces

37

19

26

22

30

Overall

37

43

43

43

44

Objective 0–100 scores from source-backed CrossBorders data. Green marks the category leader; gold is the overall leader.

Which city is the most affordable?

Lagos has the lowest open-market one-bedroom rent on a new lease in this group, at about €163 per month; Caracas has the highest, at about €246. Against one typical employee's mean net pay, Caracas, Dhaka, Karachi, Lagos, and Abidjan share the same burden at the 120% ceiling, which is the beyond local pay band; the underlying burden may be higher.

Which city is the safest?

Dhaka leads this cohort on safety, followed by Abidjan, Karachi, Lagos, and Caracas. This compares only Caracas, Dhaka, Karachi, Lagos, and Abidjan across the current safety measures.

Which city has the best healthcare?

Karachi leads this cohort on healthcare, followed by Dhaka, Lagos, Caracas, and Abidjan. This compares only Caracas, Dhaka, Karachi, Lagos, and Abidjan across the current healthcare measures.

Which city is best for your career?

Lagos leads this cohort on career, followed by Karachi, Abidjan, Dhaka, and Caracas. This compares only Caracas, Dhaka, Karachi, Lagos, and Abidjan across the current career measures.

Which city has the best food and culture?

Lagos leads this cohort on culture and food, followed by Abidjan, Caracas, Dhaka, and Karachi. This compares only Caracas, Dhaka, Karachi, Lagos, and Abidjan across the current culture and food measures.

Which city has the best public life?

Caracas leads this cohort on public life and spaces, followed by Abidjan, Karachi, Lagos, and Dhaka. This compares only Caracas, Dhaka, Karachi, Lagos, and Abidjan across the current public life and spaces measures.