Afghan men work in a small sweets factory in Kabul, Afghanistan January 5, 2017. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Men are sent down into the sludge to clear the sewers in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on May 23, 2018. The people who do the work aren’t even given any protective clothing or goggles and have to dig out the clogged-up muck with a stick or their bare hands. (Photo by Rehman Asad/Barcroft Media)

“This Way Up”. Photographic section portfolio, first prize. A Chinook CH-47 weapon systems operator prepares his aircraft during a training exercise in June 2018. (Photo bu SAC Ed Wright/RAF)

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)

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)

Festival goers in Finsbury Park ahead of the Wireless Festival at Finsbury Park in London, United Kingdom on Friday, July 8, 2022. (Photo by James Manning/PA Wire Press Association)

Pakistani street performers sit around fire waiting for customers on a chilly evening in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Wednesday, November 11, 2015. Some parts of Pakistan are facing a harsh winter. (Photo by B. K. Bangash/AP Photo)

Armed homeowners standing in front their house on Portland Place and confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house in Missouri, U.S. on June 28, 2020. The protesters called for Krewson's resignation for releasing the names and addresses of residents who suggested defunding the police department. (Photo by Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post)