Karachi Slips to 4th Least Liveable City
Despite Rs126 billion spent on garbage collection, Karachi's liveability ranking plummets from 7th to 4th worst in just five years, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit
Karachi has slipped from the seventh least liveable city in 2021 to the fourth least liveable one in 2026, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) rankings. The city now ranks 170th among the 173 cities surveyed by the EIU.
The decline in liveability has come despite enormous spending by the Sindh government on garbage collection. From 2021 to 2026, the government spent around Rs126 billion on garbage-collection contractors. In fact, the total spending on garbage collection and street sweeping since 2017 is estimated to exceed Rs190 billion.
The Sindh government took over municipal functions of garbage collection and street sweeping in 2016, and later extended the outsourcing model to other cities, including Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Larkana. The Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), which is chaired by the chief minister, is responsible for overseeing these efforts.
However, despite these efforts, Karachi continues to struggle with pollution. The city has a pollution index score of 89.5/100 on Numbeo’s global pollution index, which evaluates air quality, drinking water availability, garbage disposal, cleanliness, water pollution, noise and light pollution, green spaces, and overall comfort.
## Why it matters The decline in Karachi's liveability ranking is significant, as it reflects the city's poor environmental quality, among other factors. The EIU measures liveability based on five major criteria, including environmental quality, where cleanliness is a sub-component. The fact that Karachi has slipped to the fourth least liveable city in just five years suggests that the city's environmental challenges are far from being addressed.
The massive spending on garbage collection and street sweeping has not yielded the desired results, and the city's pollution index score remains alarmingly high. This has serious implications for the health and well-being of Karachi's residents, and highlights the need for more effective solutions to address the city's environmental challenges.
