Vienna, Austria remained at the top of Mercer’s Quality of Living Rankings in 2015, boasting the best quality of living for expatriates and their employers. Western European cities also dominate the upper tier of this ranking of 230 cities.
The cities are evaluated across 39 metrics in 10 groups, including:
- Political and social environment
- Economic environment
- Medical and health considerations
- Schools and education
- Consumer goods
- Housing
In North America, Vancouver, Canada, takes top billing, earning spot number five. Toronto and Ottawa also join the ranking in 15th and 16th places.
In the U.S., San Francisco is the highest-ranked city, in 27th place. Boston, Massachusetts; Honolulu, Hawaii; Chicago, Illinois; and New York, New York round out the top five places in the U.S., ranging from spots 34 to 44 on the global ranking.
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Asia is also home to several of the “second-tier emerging cities” including Cheonan, South Korea; Taichung, Taiwan; and Xi’an and Chongquing, China. While these cities still struggle to provide reliable clean water and combat air pollution, “advances in the telecommunications and consumer sectors have had some positive offsetting effects on their ranking.”
Dubai, UAE, receives the highest marks for quality of life in the Middle East and Africa, taking 74th place overall. Abu Dhabi rings in 77th, and Port Louis, Mauritius. Durban, South Africa, is another emerging city that beats out South Africa’s “traditional business centers” Capetown and Johannesburg. Though still plagued by issues with crime, Durban receives notice for availability of quality housing and consumer goods, and bountiful opportunities for recreation.
Occupying the lowest rungs of the ranking are N’Djamena, Chad; Khartoum, Sudan; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Bangui in the Central African Republic. Baghdad, Iraq, is seen as providing the worst quality of life for expats and employers.
Data from Mercer.
This article originally appeared in Forbes.
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