According to the Mercer’s 19th annual Quality of Living survey released on March 14, 2017, Vienna, the capital of Austria has topped the list of cities offering the highest quality of life for the eighth year in a row.
- Baghdad was ranked the worst place at 230 to live due to continuous violence in the city.
- In India, Hyderabad emerged as the best city in terms of living standards among Indian cities for the third year in a row.
Top 5 Global Cities in the List
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Vienna | Austria |
| 2 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 3 | Auckland | New Zealand |
| 4 | Munich | Germany |
| 5 | Vancouver | Canada |
Key Highlights of the Survey
According to the Quality of Living Survey 2017, Vienna was once again made the top player due to the city’s cafe culture and museums, theatres and operas. Rents and public transport costs in the city, whose architecture is marked by its past as the centre of the Habsburg empire, are cheap compared with other western capitals.
- The report stated that the cities across Britain ranked pretty poorly against European counterparts for quality of life.
- Singapore was the highest ranked Asian city at 25 while San Francisco (29) was the highest entry from United States.
- Top of the list in Africa was South Africa’s Durban at 87 while from Latin America was Montevideo (79).
- High ranking European cities included Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9), and, a newcomer to the list, Basel (10).
- Besides, global cities like London, Paris, Tokyo and New York City did not even make the top 30. They lagged behind most big German, Scandinavian, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian cities.
- London (40) emerged as the highest-ranking city for quality of life in Britain. Other Britain cities in the list include Edinburgh (45), Birmingham and Glasgow (jointly 53), Aberdeen (58), and Belfast (66).
- Baghdad was again lowest ranked city in the world. Waves of sectarian violence have swept through the Iraqi capital since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
- Syria’s Damascus was ranked seventh from bottom, with Bangui in the Central African Republic, Yemeni capital Sanaa, Haiti’s Port-au-Prince, Sudan’s Khartoum and Chad’s N’Djamena were ranked at the end of the list.
Indian Ranking
As per the report, both Hyderabad (144) and Pune ranked higher for quality of living than the country’s traditional business centres Mumbai (154) and New Delhi (161).The National Capital Delhi was for the second straight year hit the lowest score among Indian cities for living standards.
- While New Delhi scored well on account of its airport facility, availability of international schools and low probability of natural disasters, a variety of negative points excluded it from being placed it at top position like increasing crime rate, air pollution and water availability.
- The survey stated that cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai have emerged as cities of choice due to factors such as relatively lower crime rate, lesser air pollution and improved options for international and reputable English speaking schools.
- Chennai’s score marginally improved mainly on account of public transport, including buses and a recently expanded two-line metro system, and improved availability of expat housing.
- Among other Indian cities, Kolkata (149) and Pune (151), while Bangalore was rated the lowest (177).
- Hyderabad fell by five places to 144 in this year’s rankings from 139th rank last year due to decreased power supply and water availability.
About the Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey
Mercer is the world’s largest human resources consulting firm. Headquartered in New York City, Mercer has more than 20,500 employees, is based in more than 40 countries, and operates internationally in more than 130 countries.
- Every year Mercer releases its Quality of Living Index, which looks at which cities provide the best quality of life for residents.
- The ranking is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and is carried out to help multinational companies and other employers to determine compensation and hardship allowances for international staff.
- Mercer looked at 450 cities across the world and took into account dozens of measurements to judge which cities made the list for the best quality of life.
- These include political stability, crime, law enforcement, currency-exchange regulations, banking services, as well as standards and availability of international schools, rental housing, household appliances, furniture, and maintenance services
