Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »
Dublin has been ranked 16th in the EU and 25th in the world for overall quality of life in a global survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Vienna scored highest for overall quality of living in the survey of 215 cities, while Baghdad came last.
The survey is carried out to assist governments and major companies in placing employees on international assignments. It looks at factors such as health and sanitation, schools and education, climate and the likelihood of natural disasters, the economic and political environment as well as public services and transportation.
Dublin ranks ahead of several major European cities including Paris (33rd), London (38th), and Barcelona (joint 42nd with Portland, USA).
Swiss and German cities dominate the top ten with Zurich in second place followed by Geneva in third, Dusseldorf in sixth, Munich in seventh, Frankfurt in eighth and Bern in ninth places respectively.
Honolulu, in 29th place, is the city with the highest quality of living in the United States with Washington and New York coming in at positions 44 and 49. Vancouver, in Canada, is in joint fourth position along with Auckland in New Zealand. Sydney is in tenth position and Wellington in twelfth.
Dublin only ranked 58th out of 215 for infrastructure, however, 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 was the city with the best infrastructure followed by Munich in second place and Copenhagen in third.
Top ten cities
Vienna (Austria)
Zurich (Switzerland)
Geneva (Switzerland)
Vancouver/Auckland (Canada/New Zealand)
Dusseldorf (Germany)
Munich (Germany)
Frankfurt (Germany)
Bern (Switzerland)
Sydney (Australia)
Bottom ten cities
Dhaka (Bangladesh)
Port au Prince (Haiti)
Kinshasa (Dem. Rep of Congo)
Nouakchott (Mauritania)
Pointe Noire (Congo)
Sanaa (Yemen)
Khartoum (Sudan)
Brazzaville (Congo)
Ndjamena (Chad)
Bangui (Central African Rpublic)
Baghdad (Iraq)
