London-based company Mercer, a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments, has released its 18th Quality of Living survey saying that despite recent security issues, social unrest, and concern about the region’s economic outlook, European cities continue to offer some of the worlds’ highest quality-of-living.
Mercer’s Quality of Living Rankings cover 230 prevalent destinations. Living conditions are analyzed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories. This year, the company’s experts have also examined personal safety, a top issue for multinational companies sending employees abroad, as security concerns increase throughout the world.
Vienna continues its reign in the top spot for overall quality of living, followed by Zurich (2), Auckland (3), and Munich (4).Vancouver (5) is North America’s highest ranking city, and Singapore is the highest ranking Asian city, holding 26th place.
Western European cities fill seven places in the top-10 list. Vienna continues to lead the ranking and has done so in the last seven published rankings. It is followed by Zurich (2), Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), and Copenhagen (9). In 69th place, Prague is the highest ranking city in Central and Eastern Europe, followed by Ljubljana (76) and Budapest (77).
The lowest ranking cities in Europe are Kiev (176), Tirana (179), and Minsk (190).
The lowest ranking cities are Damascus (229) and Baghdad (230), both of which have witnessed continual violence and terrorist attacks that weigh upon the daily life of locals and expatriates.
Belsat.eu
