DUBLIN IS the 26th best city in the world in which to live, according to this year’s worldwide quality-of-living survey from business consultants Mercer.
The annual survey, used by multinational companies to work out how much extra money to pay workers if they are relocated to another country, ranks Vienna as the best city to live in. Baghdad is ranked worst.
Dublin has slipped one place from its 25th international ranking last year. However, the list has been expanded from 215 cities in 2009 to 221 this year.
Dublin ranks as the 17th best European city to live in and comes ahead of London, which comes in at 39th in the worldwide ranking and 22nd in Europe.
Several dozen quality-of-life aspects of a city were measured under headings including political, social, economic and socio-cultural environments. The survey also examined health and sanitation, schools and education, public services and transport, availability of consumer goods and climate.
European cities dominate the results and take the top three spots, with Zurich and Geneva following respectively in second and third places after Vienna. Vancouver and Auckland remain in joint fourth place.
In the US, the highest entry is Honolulu at 31st, followed by San Francisco at 32nd. Singapore at 28th is the top-scoring Asian city, followed by Tokyo at 40th.
This year’s ranking also identifies the cities with the best eco-ranking based on water availability and drinkability, waste removal, quality of sewage systems, air pollution and traffic congestion.
Calgary is at the top of this index, followed by Honolulu in second place. Wellington, Minneapolis, Adelaide and Copenhagen fill the next four slots in that order, while Kobe, Oslo and Stockholm share ninth place. Port-au-Prince in Haiti ranks at the bottom of this table, while Dublin has an eco-city ranking of 33rd worldwide and 14th in Europe.
Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer, said a city’s attitude towards sustainability and environmental issues was becoming increasingly important to companies. “A city’s eco-status or attitude toward sustainability can have significant impact on the quality of living of its inhabitants. As a consequence these are also pertinent issues for companies that send employees and their families on long-term assignments abroad, especially considering the vast majority of expatriates are relocated to urban areas.”
CITY LIVING BEST IN THE WORLD
1 Vienna
2 Zurich
3 Geneva
4 Vancouver; Auckland
6 Dusseldorf
7 Frankfurt; Munich
9 Bern
10 Sydney
26 Dublin
34 Paris
39 London
44 Barcelona
45 Lisbon
49 New York
54 Rome
63 Belfast
75 Athens
86 Cape Town 100 Muscat (Oman)
Source: Mercer quality of living survey
