Heightened terrorism threat from groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram continue to impact the stability and liveability of cities across the world.
In August, the Economist Intelligence Unit released a ranking of 140 of the most — and least — liveable cities in the world in 2017.
The index ranks cities worldwide by how "liveable" they are, awarding them points out of 100 according to factors such as stability, healthcare, culture/environment, education, and infrastructure.
Cities in Australia, New Zealand and Europe continue to dominate the top 10 most liveable cities — with Melbourne scoring top — while places in the Middle East, Africa and Asia — with the exception of the Ukraine's Kiev — account for the worst.
"Although the top five cities remain unchanged, the past few years have seen increasing instability across the world, causing volatility in the scores of many cities," the report said. "In Europe, cities have been affected by the spreading perceived threat of terrorism in the region.
"While not a new phenomenon, the frequency and spread of terrorism have increased noticeably and become even more prominent," it added.
In total, 12 cities continued to occupy the very bottom tier of liveability, where ratings fall below 50% and most aspects of living are severely restricted.
The survey only addresses a selection of cities or business centres that people might want to live in or visit. It does not include places like Kabul in Afghanistan or Baghdad in Iraq, but does rank Damascus and Tripoli, which are unlikely to attract visitors but were deemed relatively stable just a few years ago.
Scroll down to see which were the 10 least liveable cities in 2017, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's ranking.