Global Cities

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http://www.finfacts.ie/qualityoflife.htm

 

Cities in Europe, New Zealand, and Australia continue to dominate the top of the rankings: Vienna shares third place with Vancouver (score 106), while Auckland, Bern, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Sydney are joint fifth with a score of 105.

 

 

US cities have slipped in the rankings this year as tighter restrictions have been imposed on entry to the country. Increased security checks on arrivals and departures from the country can be very time-consuming for expatriates. Honolulu and San Francisco rank highest, both at position 24 (score 102). Among US cities included in the survey, Atlanta ranks lowest at position 66 (score 94.5).

 

 

 

Cities are ranked against New York as the base city which has a rating of 100. The analysis is part of a worldwide quality of life survey, covering 215 cities, to help governments and major companies to place employees on international assignments.

 

 

 

The analysis was based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life criteria for each city including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.

 

 

 

Baghdad is now the world’s least attractive city for expatriates. Its score has dropped from 30.5 last year to 14.5 due to ongoing concerns over security and the city’s precarious infrastructure. Other poor-scoring cities for overall quality of life include Bangui in the Central African Republic (28.5) and Brazzaville and Pointe Noire in Congo (29.5 and 33.5 respectively).

 

 

 

 

Mr Parakatil concluded: “The threat of terrorism in the Middle-East and the political and economic turmoil in African countries has increased the disparity between cities at the top and the bottom end of the rankings.”

 

 

 

Health and sanitation rankings

 

Calgary ranks as the world’s top city for health and sanitation, according to the survey. The Canadian city scores 121 and rates just above Honolulu, which takes second place with a score of 120. Helsinki and Ottawa follow closely in the rankings with scores of 119.5 and 118.5, respectively.

 

 

 

Scores are based on the quality and availability of hospital and medical supplies and levels of air pollution and infectious disease. The efficiency of waste removal and sewage systems, water potability and harmful animals and insects are also taken into account.

 

 

 

“The top cities for health and sanitation have a combination of excellent hospital services and medical supplies and low levels of air pollution and infectious disease,” said Slagin Parakatil, Senior Researcher at Mercer. “Most of the low-scoring cities are in developing countries which have insufficient resources and infrastructure for good sanitation.”

 

 

 

The lowest ranking city for health supplies and sanitation is Baku in Azerbaijan, which scores just 25.5. Hospitals and medical services are in short supply and the infrastructure for waste removal is poor. Other low-ranking cities include Antananarivo in Madagascar, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Brazzaville in Congo, which score 26, 29 and 32 respectively.

 

 

 

Western Europe: In the survey, almost half of the top 40 scoring cities are in Western Europe. Helsinki scores highest for health and sanitation, at position 3 with a rating of 119.5. Oslo, Stockholm and Zurich are all ranked 5 with a score of 117. Other high-scoring cities are Bern and Geneva in Switzerland and Nurnberg in Germany which all rank 9 with a rating of 116.

 

 

 

At the other extreme, Athens is by far the lowest scoring city in Western Europe, at position 120 with a score of 73. Its low score is mainly due to the high level of pollution in the city, which has been identified as the cause of respiratory illnesses. Milan, Rome, and Lisbon also appear at the lowest end of the rankings for the region, all at position 69 with a score of 99. London is ranked 59 with a score of 106.

 

 

 

Eastern Europe: In contrast to Western Europe, most Eastern European cities score less than 100 in the ratings, mainly due to a shortage of hospitals and medical supplies. Prague in the Czech Republic scores highest for health and sanitation, at position 79 with a rating of 92.5, followed by Ljubljana in Slovenia and Budapest in Hungary, at positions 85 and 86 respectively (scores 90.5 and 90).

 

 

 

Russian cities score lowest in the region, largely due to their poor waste removal and sewage systems. Moscow, Kazan, Novosibirsk, and St Petersburg take positions 190, 185, 184, and 183 respectively with scores of 45, 45.5, 46.5, and 47.

 

 

 

North America: Four of the world’s top ranked cities for health and sanitation are in North America.

 

 

 

All of the Canadian cities covered by the survey appear in the top 20 rankings, with Calgary in top place with a score of 121. Ottawa is in fourth position with a score of 118.5, followed by Montréal and Vancouver, both in ninth place with a score of 116. Toronto is in 18th position with a score of 115.

 

 

 

In the US, Honolulu ranks highest (position 2), with a score of 120. Other top-scoring cities include Minneapolis (position 5, score 117) and Boston, Lexington, Pittsburgh, and Portland (all at position 9, score 116). The lowest scoring city in North America is Atlanta, ranked 76 with a score of 95.

 

 

 

Latin America: Cities in Latin America tend to feature much lower in the rankings than those in North America. Pollution tends to be higher and hospital and medical services are in shorter supply. Buenos Aires in Argentina ranks highest in 79th place with a score of 92.5. Caracas in Venezuela and Quito in Ecuador rank lowest at positions 168 and 158 respectively (score 54 and 58).

 

 

 

Notes: New York has been used as the base score for quality of life with a score of 100 points.

 

The research was largely carried out in November 2003 and is updated to take account of changing circumstances. In particular, the assessments will be revised if the Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) becomes more dangerous for expatriates.

 

 

 

The worldwide ranking’s list is produced from the most recent worldwide quality of life survey, conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed, but please note that there is no overall summary report available. The cost of comparative quality of life indexes between a base city and a host city is 250 Euros (multiple city comparisons are available on a sliding cost scale). Further information and copies of the reports are available from Client Services, Mercer Global Information Services, on +41 22 869 3000. Also, visit the Mercer quality of living webpage --www.mercerhr.com/qol.

 

 

 

Mercer’s study is based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 39 key quality of life determinants, grouped in the following categories:

 

Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc)

 

 

Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)

 

 

Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc)

 

 

Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)

 

 

Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

 

 

Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)

 

 

Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc)

 

 

Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports, and leisure etc)

 

 

Schools and education (standard and availability of schools etc)

 

 

Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)

 

Mercer Human Resource Consulting, one of the world’s leading consulting organisations, helps employers create measurable business results through their people. With more than 13,000 employees serving clients from some 150 cities in 40 countries worldwide, the company is part of Mercer Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, Pacific, and London stock exchanges.