Auckland ranked third in Mercer’s 19th annual Quality of Living survey. The global survey looks at 450 different cities around the world.
Mercer’s annual survey is run to for companies, to help them ‘compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.’ The survey considers factors including crime level, economic environment, personal and cultural freedom, political stability, education, housing, transportation and more.
Sydney was named the best city in Australia for quality of life.
Sydney tied 10th in the world with Basel, Switzerland.
Auckland, Sydney and Vancouver, which ranked fifth, were the only non-European countries to make the top ten,
Vienna held its title for the eighth year running. Zurich came in second behind Auckland.
Melbourne came in 16th, tied with Toronto. Amsterdam and Berlin came in 12th and 13th respectively.
Source: Domain.com.au
Sydney beat out the likes of Amsterdam (12), Berlin (13) and Toronto (16), and was only joined in the top 20 by one other Australian city – Melbourne – which ranked 16th.
Perth just missed out, with a ranking of 22, and was followed by Adelaide (28), Canberra (29) and Brisbane (37). Hobart and Darwin were not included in the rankings.
Unsurprisingly, the countries coming in last were unsafe, war-affected cities in developing natures. Baghdad came in in last place. Damascus, Syria and Port au Prince, Haiti also feature on the bottom of the list.
The survey also develops an infrastructure ranking. This ranking considers electricity supply, access to drinking water, the range of international flights available, mail services, public transportation, telephone services and traffic congestion.
Slagin Parakatil from Mercer said infrastructure in a city has a significant effect on the quality of life of people in a city.
“Access to a variety of transport options, being connected locally and internationally, and access to electricity and drinkable water are among the essential needs of expatriates arriving in a new location on assignment. A well-developed infrastructure can also be a key competitive advantage for cities and municipalities trying to attract multinational companies, talent, and foreign investments,” he said.
“Cities that rank high in the city infrastructure list provide a combination of top-notch local and international airport facilities, varied and extended coverage through their local transportation networks, and innovative solutions such as smart technology and alternative energy.
“Most cities now align variety, reliability, technology and sustainability when designing infrastructure for the future.”
Singapore topped the list, followed by the second place tie held by Frankfurt and Munich. Australia fared well, with Syndey coming in eighth above Perth at 32, Melbourne at 34 and Brisbane at 37 on the ranking.
Source: Domain.com.au
Top 10 cities for quality of living
Rank – City – Country
1 – Vienna – Austria
2 – Zurich – Switzerland
3 – Auckland – New Zealand
4 – Munich – Germany
5 – Vancouver – Canada
6 – Dusseldorf – Germany
7 – Frankfurt – Germany
8 – Geneva- Switzerland
9 – Copenhagen- Denmark
10 – Basel – Switzerland
10 – Sydney – Australia
