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| The Belvedere is a baroque palace built by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 3rd district of Vienna, south-east of the city centre. François-Eugène, Prince of Savoy-Carignan (1663 – 1736), is regarded as one of the most successful military commanders in European history |
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Vienna scores highest for
overall quality of living, Baghdad the lowest
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Dublin ranks ahead of several
major cities including Paris (33rd ), London (38th), and Barcelona (joint
42nd with Portland, USA) in the Quality of Living survey
This year’s rankings also identify
cities with the best infrastructure:
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Singapore ranks top for city
infrastructure; Dublin ranks 58th of 215 cities
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Cities ranked ahead of Dublin in
the City Infrastructure rankings include London (joint 8th with Frankfurt
and Hong Kong), Paris (13th), Birmingham / Glasgow (ranked joint 45th)
Dublin ranks 25th of 215 (in top
12%) in the Mercer 2009 Quality of Living Global City rankings, ahead of several
major cities including Paris (33rd), London (38th), and Barcelona (42nd). Vienna
has passed Zurich to take the top spot as the world’s city with the best quality
of living, according to the Mercer 2009 Quality of Living survey. Geneva is in
third position, while Vancouver and Auckland are now joint fourth in the
rankings.
Patrick Robertson a Principal at Mercer commented: “As a result of the
current financial crisis, multinationals are looking to review their
international assignment policies with a view to cutting costs. Many companies
plan to reduce the number of medium to long-term international assignments and
localise their expatriate compensation packages where possible though an
allowance, based on quality of living criteria,” he added.
This year’s ranking also identifies the cities with the best infrastructure
based on electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services,
public transport provision, traffic congestion and the range of international
flights from local airports. Singapore is at the top of this index (score 109.1)
followed by Munich in second place and Copenhagen in third. Dublin is ranked
58th out of the 215 cities rated. Cities ranked ahead of Dublin in the City
infrastructure rankings include London (8th), Paris (13th), Birmingham / Glasgow
(ranked joint 45th).
Europe
Europe’s cities once more dominate the world’s top 10 for quality of living.
Vienna is the city rated with the best quality of living worldwide, moving up
one place in the rankings following improvements in Austria’s political and
social environment. The rest of the top 10 for Europe are dominated by German
and Swiss cities, most of them retaining last year’s ranking and scores. Zurich,
in second place, is followed by Geneva (3), Dusseldorf (6), Munich (7),
Frankfurt (8) and Bern (9).
Many Eastern European cities have seen an increase in quality of living. A
number of countries which joined the European Union back in 2004 have
experienced consistent improvement with increased stability, rising living
standards and greater availability of international consumer goods. Ljubljana in
Slovenia, for example, moves up four places to reach 78 while Bratislava moves
up three places to 88. Zagreb moves three places to 103.
Americas
There have been few changes in the rankings for North American cities. Canadian
cities still dominate the top of the index for this region. Vancouver (4)
retains the top spot and Honolulu (29) ranks as the city in the United States
with the highest quality of living. Washington and New York remain in positions
44 and 49 respectively.
In Central and South America, San Juan in Puerto Rico retains the highest
ranking at 72, followed by Montevideo, Uruguay at 79. Port au Prince (206) in
Haiti continues to rank lowest in the region and has gone down four places in
the overall ranking due to food shortages experienced in 2008 and the subsequent
riots.
Middle East and Africa
Dubai (77) in the United Arab Emirates and Port Louis in Mauritius (82) are the
region’s cities with the best quality of living. Dubai’s transport facilities
have witnessed improvements, with the development of its road infrastructure and
expansion of its international airport and the city is up six places in the
ranking.
Cape Town in South Africa, previously the city in the region with the best
quality of living, has dropped substantially in this year’s ratings (from 80 to
87 in 2009). This move follows violent riots in South Africa’s main cities in
2008.
Asia Pacific
Auckland (4) in New Zealand retains its position as the highest ranking city for
quality of living in the region. Sydney in Australia follows at 10 and
Wellington in New Zealand at 12. While the majority of the region’s cities
retain a similar ranking to last year, Singapore (26) is the region’s highest
riser, up six places since 2008. The city has gained importance as a financial
centre and offers a wide range of international and private schools to cater to
its expatriate community. Beijing has also moved three places in the ranking, up
from 116 to 113, mainly due to improvements in public transport facilities from
the Olympic Games last August.
The Quality of Living Global City rankings are based on a point-scoring index,
which sees Vienna score 108.6, and Baghdad 14.4. Cities are ranked against New
York as the base city with an index score of 100. Mercer’s Quality of Living
ranking covers 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major
companies place employees on international assignments.
|
Mercer
Quality of Living Survey – Worldwide Rankings, 2009
Top and Bottom 10
Base City:
New York, USA (=100) |
|
Rankings |
City |
Country |
QoL Index |
|
2009 |
2008 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
1 |
2 |
Vienna |
Austria |
108.6 |
107.9 |
|
2 |
1 |
Zurich |
Switzerland |
108 |
108 |
|
3 |
2 |
Geneva |
Switzerland |
107.9 |
107.9 |
|
4 |
4 |
Vancouver |
Canada |
107.4 |
107.6 |
|
4 |
5 |
Auckland |
New Zealand |
107.4 |
107.3 |
|
6 |
6 |
Dusseldorf |
Germany |
107.2 |
107.2 |
|
7 |
7 |
Munich |
Germany |
107 |
107 |
|
8 |
7 |
Frankfurt |
Germany |
106.8 |
107 |
|
9 |
9 |
Bern |
Switzerland |
106.5 |
106.5 |
|
10 |
10 |
Sydney |
Australia |
106.3 |
106.3 |
|
06 |
202 |
Port au Prince |
Haiti |
38.3 |
39.8 |
|
207 |
209 |
Kinshasa |
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo |
36.3 |
36.3 |
|
208 |
204 |
Nouakchott |
Mauritania |
35.8 |
39.6 |
|
209 |
210 |
Pointe Noire |
Congo |
35.1 |
33 |
|
210 |
207 |
Sanaa |
Yemen Arab Republic |
34.3 |
38.2 |
|
211 |
212 |
Khartoum |
Sudan |
32.2 |
31 |
|
212 |
213 |
Brazzaville |
Congo |
31.6 |
29.5 |
|
213 |
211 |
Ndjamena |
Chad |
31.3 |
32.9 |
|
214 |
214 |
Bangui |
Central African Republic |
29.3 |
29.3 |
|
215 |
215 |
Baghdad |
Iraq |
14.4 |
13.5 |
