Cities in Australia and Canada dominated the world’s most livable city list in this year’s Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey, and Israel’s entry – Tel Aviv – bettered its placing by one spot.

The most desirable place to live – according to political and social stability, crime rates, health care, education, infrastructure, and standard of cultural events and natural environment – is once again Melbourne.

The August 2012 report put Vienna in second place, followed by Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Adelaide, Sydney, Helsinki, Perth and Auckland.

London, the world’s most talked about city thanks to the Olympics, placed just 55 on the index.

Tel Aviv ranked 76th among 140 cities surveyed – up from 77th last year.

“The liveability report surveys 140 locations around the world to assess the best or the worst living conditions. It originated as a means of testing whether Human Resource Departments needed to assign a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages,” reports the EIU index. “It has since evolved as a broad benchmarking tool used by city councils, organizations or corporate entities looking to test locations against one another.”

Among the most undesirable places to live, according to the survey, are Tehran, Harare, Lagos and Dhaka.