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)

A female vendor sells Christmas and New Year paraphernalia from her stall at a roadside in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 16 December 2022. A few days before the Christmas holidays and with the celebrations of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in sight, the shopping for seasonal decoration in the West African city is at its peak. (Photo by Legnan Koula/EPA/EFE)

Biologists Jenna Cormany (L) and Lauryn Wright of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources help to release a leatherback turtle in Isle of Palms, South Carolina March 12, 2015. The 475-pound turtle was the first living leatherback turtle to be recovered in South Carolina and one of only a handful ever treated at rehabilitation facilities in the United States. It was found March 7 on the beach on Yawkey-South Island Reserve, a 3.5-mile-long (5.6-km-long) barrier island and wildlife preserve near Georgetown, South Carolina. (Photo by Randall Hill/Reuters)

From left, Cierra Fraser, 28, Los Angeles, a nanny, and Joslin Farley, 28, Los Angeles, a barista, poses in the outfits they wore to see the movie “Barbie” at TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, on July 22, 2023. “I just knew that it was in good hands. I knew we were not gonna get a stereotypical barbie movie. I knew it was gonna be exactly what the people needed”, said Farley. (Photo by Jenna Schoenefeld for The Washington Post)

Guests pose during a VIP media preview ahead of the opening of The Museum of Selfies in Glendale, California, U.S., March 29, 2018. Tommy Honton, the museum’s co-founder, says: “We don’t want this to be an elite art world, ivory tower thing. Art doesn’t have to be hard to understand – it can be for everyone”. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

An Ivorian supporter celebrates after winning at the end of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 final football match between Ivory Coast and Nigeria at Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan on February 11, 2024. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)

Women from a local cocoa farmers association called BLAYEYA work in a cocoa farm in Djangobo, Niable in eastern Ivory Coast, November 17, 2014. BLAYEYA is a women's only association with each member owning a field and planting cocoa. (Photo by Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters)

A member of the Fientan group, a contemporary dance company of young deaf and mute people from Burkina Faso, performs during the Market for Performing Arts in Abidjan (MASA), at the Culture Palace in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Luc Gnago/Reuters)