Quality of Living Global City Rankings

European cities dominated annual world-wide quality of living rankings in a survey released today. Zurich scored highest place for overall quality of living and Luxembourg ranked the highest city for personal safety.

European cities dominated the world-wide rankings of locations with the best quality of living, according to Mercer’s 2008 Quality of Living survey. The quality of living survey covered 215 cities and was conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments. Zurich retained its 2007 title as the highest ranked city, followed jointly by Vienna and Geneva. Vancouver was 4th followed by Auckland in 5th place.

The survey also identified those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement and relationships with other countries. Luxembourg was top, followed by Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich, all equally placed at number 2. Chicago, Houston and San Francisco were amongst the safest cities in the US.

North America
Canadian cities dominated the rankings in the Americas. Vancouver (4) had the best quality of living followed by Toronto (15), Ottawa (19) and Montreal (22). In the US, after Honolulu (28) came San Francisco (29), Boston (37) and Chicago (44). Washington, DC, ranked 44, above New York (49).

In terms of personal safety, Canadian cities again performed best with Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver all ranked jointly at 22. In the US, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Lexington, San Francisco and Winston-Salem all shared rank 53.

Mr Parakatil senior researcher at Mercer said, “Personal safety within Canadian cities ranks among the highest in the region. This is due to a relatively low crime rate and a stable political environment.”

Europe
Switzerland and Germany dominated the European cities with the best quality of living, each having three cities represented in the top 10. Bern, in Switzerland, ranked 9 followed behind Zurich and Geneva. Dusseldorf (6), Munich and Frankfurt (both at 7) represented Germany. Outside the top 10 were Copenhagen (11), Amsterdam (13), Brussels (14), Berlin (16) and Luxembourg (17). Dublin, ranked 25, was followed by Paris (32), Barcelona (42) and Madrid (43). Lisbon was number 44 and was followed by Rome, 55, up from 61 in 2007. Prague (71) was the highest-ranking eastern European city followed by Budapest (74), Vilnius (78), Ljubljana (82) and Warsaw (85).

The rankings of Bern, Geneva and Zurich, all at 2, confirmed Switzerland’s position as one of the safest countries in Europe. According to the index, Luxembourg was the European city with the highest level of personal safety. This was in stark contrast with Moscow, the European city scoring the lowest (196). In the UK, Glasgow (43) and Birmingham (53) ranked safer than London (69).

Mr Parakatil commented, “Europe dominates the list in terms of infrastructure, health and political stability. Large discrepancies continue to exist within this region. Living standards in Eastern European cities have been catching up with Western European cities.”

Asia Pacific
Auckland (5) was the city in Asia Pacific with the best quality of living, followed by Sydney (10) and Wellington (12). Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore (32) ranked two places higher than in 2007, slightly higher than Japanese cities such as Tokyo (35). Hong Kong and Beijing retained their 2007 rankings, respectively 70 and 116 in 2008. Bangalore (140) was India’s most highly ranked city followed closely by Mumbai (142). Both have seen a marked improvement in their rankings since 2007. For personal safety, Auckland (10) and Wellington (10) ranked highest in the Asia pacific region.