LONDON, England (CNN) — Vancouver is the world’s most desirable place to live, according to a new survey, while Papua New Guinea’s Port Moresby is at the other end of the scale.

The Canadian city, nestled on the Pacific coast, was one of four locations in that country to rank at the top of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s livability survey, which looked at conditions in 127 cities.

The other top-ranking Canadian cities were Toronto, Calgary and Montreal.

Australia also fared well in the survey by the London-based group, with Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney scoring high marks along with Vienna, Austria, and Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.

The EIU study assessed nearly 40 indicators in five broad categories — stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

“In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism,” said Jon Copestake, editor of the report.

Joining Port Moresby at the bottom of the list were Algiers, Algeria, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Karachi, Pakistan, and Lagos, Nigeria, also ranked poorly. The EIU said 10 cities — all in Asia, Africa or the Middle East — had aspects of daily life that “present challenges.”

By contrast, the EIU said 63 cities fell into the top livability bracket.

“This reflects the fact that many global business centers have a developed infrastructure and widespread availability,” the report states. “Still, the overwhelming majority of cities in the top livability range are based in western Europe and North America.”

The report said Canada, “with low crime, little threat from instability or terrorism and a highly developed infrastructure,” is the most livable destination in the world.

“Although higher crime rates and a greater threat of terror puts U.S. cities below those of Canada, U.S. cities are still among the world’s most livable.” Cleveland and Pittsburgh had the highest American scores.

Only three cities in eastern Europe fall into this bracket along with 13 cities from Asia, the EUI said.