A period of relative stability has put the Iranian capital No1 on the list of world cities that have achieved biggest improvements in liveability over the past five years, as calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The “most improved” top 10 contains some unexpected names. So, eg, the fourth place: Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Latest ranking: 128; Ranking five years ago: 131; Five-year index movement: 3.8%. Here: A supporter of Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara campaigns in a market in the city’s Koumassi quarter. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)

Relatives clean the body of Paul Sampe Lumba who has been dead for seven yeas during the Ma'nene ritual at Panggala Village on August 26, 2016 in Toraja, Indonesia. The Ma'nene ritual in performed during a ceremony every three years, where the dead are exhumed for a change of clothes, among the people of Toraja as an expression of the love of the surviving family. (Photo by Sijori Images/Barcroft Images)

People walk past a sculpture entitled “Reunion” by artist Sam Jinks at a preview of the Melbourne Art Fair in Melbourne on August 1, 2018. The sculpture is made of silicone, pigment, resin and human hair. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

A dog jumps into a swimming pool to retrieve a ball during the Chatsworth House Country Fair near Edensor, Britain on August 31, 2018. (Photo by Darren Staples/Reuters)

Two hippopotamus are fed with pumpkins at the Hanoi Zoo, in Hanoi, Vietnam, 25 October 2018. The zoo has been the home for more than 800 animals of over 90 different species, including three hippopotamus, since it was built in 1976. (Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA/EFE)

A worker displays paper pandas created by French artist Paulo Grangeon in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 4, 2016. The exhibit is part of the World Wide Fund's project where the 1600 paper pandas symbolize the last pandas still present in nature.(Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, showed Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries as the 10 least happy places on earth to live. The top 10 this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. Denmark was in third place last year, behind Switzerland and Iceland. The bottom 10 were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi. The United States came in at 13, the United Kingdom at 23, France at 32, and Italy at 50. Here: #8. NEW ZEALAND: A woman dives from a platform into a giant air bed at a park in Palmerston North September 29, 2011. (Photo by Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)

In this March 19, 2016 photo, Kay Pike transforms herself using body paint and latex into Superman while live streaming at her home in Calgary, Alberta. Pike refers to all her creations as her “little paint children”. She said it would be boring and lonely to do the painting without an audience. (Photo by Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)