Windhoek ‘low’ on quality of living

Windhoek is the 131st city with the best quality of living out of 231 worldwide, according to a new international survey.The Mercer 2019 Quality of Living Index, released yesterday, placed Vienna at the top for the 10th consecutive year.The survey, designed as a tool to help international organisations determine salary levels for expatriate employees, is based on 39 criteria.These include housing, political stability, crime, leisure, air pollution, infrastructure, the health system, education and the economy.In Africa, Port Louis (83) was the city with the best quality of living and also the safest (59). It was closely followed for overall quality of living by the South African cities of Durban (88), Cape Town (95) and Johannesburg (96), though these cities still rank low for personal safety, and issues around water scarcity contributed to Cape Town falling one place this year. Conversely, Bangui (230) scored the lowest for the continent and also ranked lowest for personal safety (230). Gambia’s progress toward a democratic political system and improved international relations and human rights meant that Banjul (179) had the most improved quality of living in Africa, but also in the world, rising six places this year.Rest of the worldVienna was one of eight European cities in the top 10 in the survey by Mercer, a human-resources consultancy.In second place was Zurich, followed in joint third place by Munich, Vancouver and Auckland, New Zealand.Duesseldorf in Germany took sixth followed by Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Geneva and Basel.London was ranked 41st and Paris was 39th, although the study, carried out between September and November 2018, did not take into account France's “yellow vest” anti-government protests.Mercer said all US cities covered in the analysis fell in the rankings this year, with the exception of New York, which rose one place to 44 as crime rates there continue to fall. San Fransisco was the top-ranked US city at 34.In Asia, Singapore has the highest quality of living at 25th place, followed by Tokyo and Kobe (joint 49th). Hong Kong was ranked 71st and Seoul 77nd.At the other end of the table, the lowest ranked city was Baghdad at 231. Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, and Sanaa in Yemen were 230th and 229th respectively.“Mercer’s 21st annual Quality of Living survey shows that many cities around the world still offer attractive environments in which to do business, and the best understand that the quality of living is an essential component of a city’s attractiveness for businesses and mobile talent,” the survey states. – Own report and Nampa/AFP

Windhoek ‘low’ on quality of living

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-12-31

Please login to leave a comment

Windhoek ‘low’ on quality of living

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-12-31

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content