A view of Dubai Source: Flickr/Simon Bierwald

Dubai has been ranked as the most liveable city in the Arab world, although it only ranks 74th globally.

The annual Global Liveability Report by The Economist places Abu Dhabi third among Arab countries. This follows the recent report by Numbeo, revealing that Abu Dhabi is the world's safest city.

But beyond safety, The Economist's report looks at more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors. These come within five broader categories, which are: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

While Arab cities, such as Abu Dhabi, may be extremely safe, they have room for improvement across other categories, according to The Economist's data.

However, despite Dubai's mediocre ranking globally, the report highlights the Emirate's significant improvement over the past few years

According to the data, Dubai is the second biggest improver in the world, increasing its rating by 4.6 percent.

Regionally, several other Arab cities are among the least liveable in the world. 

These include Algiers, Algeria; Tripoli, Libya; and Damascus, Syria. 

"Although few would currently argue that Damascus and Tripoli are likely to attract visitors, their inclusion in the survey reflects cities that were deemed relatively stable just a few years ago," the report points out.

Topping the ranking as the world's most liveable is Melbourne, Australia for the seventh year. 

Following Melbourne are Vienna, Austria; Vancouver, Canada; and Toronto, Canada respectively.