Calgary scores highest for health and sanitation; Baku In Azerbaijan scores lowest.

Cities in Western Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan dominate the top of the rankings.

Zurich scores highest for overall quality of living; Baghdad ranks lowest.

The 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting has found that four of the world’s five top-scoring cities for health and sanitation are in North America. Calgary ranks top with a score of 131.7, followed by Honolulu, which scores 130.3. Helsinki — the only European city in the top five follows closely in the rankings with a score of 128.5. Ottawa and Minneapolis take fourth and fifth places with scores of 127.2 and 125.7, respectively.

Scores are based on the quality and availability of hospital and medical supplies, and levels of air pollution and infectious diseases. The efficiency of waste removal and sewage systems, water portability and the presence of harmful animals and insects are also taken into account.

Cities are ranked against New York as the base city which has an index score of 100. The analysis is part of Mercer’s Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, which includes 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments.

“As companies expand operations around the world, they consider the quality of life in several ways first, they recognize any diminution in quality of life that their cross-border employees may experience and factor that into their compensation packages,” said Rebecca Powers, a principal in Mercer’s San Francisco office. “Moreover, as the workforce becomes more globally mobile, companies that want to attract the most sought after and highly skilled workers may gravitate to those locations where the quality of life is highest.”

The lowest-ranking city for health and sanitation is Bakuin Azerbaijan, which scores just 27.6. Other low-scoring cities include Dhaka in Bangladesh, Antananarivo in Madagasca and Port Au Prince in Haiti, which score 29.6, 30.1 and 34.0, respectively.

“Poor countries often lack adequate medical infrastructure, including hospitals and health networks. Furthermore, provision of care is hampered by poor sanitation and unsafe water facilities in many areas,” said Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer. “The development of efficient waste removal and sewage systems, coupled with government investment in medical infrastructure, will be key to avoiding pandemic outbreaks of diseases and for improving general living standards.”

Europe, Middle East and Africa
Almost half of the 30 top-scoring cities surveyed are in Western Europe. Helsinki has the highest score for the region, at position 3 with a rating of 128.5. Oslo, Stockholm and Zurich all rank 6th with a score of 125.0. London is ranked 63rd with a score of 111.2.

Most Eastern European cities have relatively low scores, except for Prague in the Czech Republic which scores highest, at position 75 with a score of 101.3. Russian cities have the poorest scores in this area. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Kazan take positions 201, 184, 182 and 174, respectively with ratings of 43.4, 50.5, 51.1 and 54.0, respectively.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the highest-ranking Middle Eastern cities and share position 58 with a score of 112.9. African cities typically rank in lower positions than their European and Middle Eastern counterparts, with many scoring in the bottom 20.

“The availability of public and private hospital care, together with modern medica infrastructure, means health care standards in Europe are generally very high. Medical provision in the Middle East, especially the United Arab Emirates, has also benefited from substantial government investment,” said Mr. Parakatil. “In impoverished countries where medical care and sanitation are often poor it can be advisable for expatriates to seek private treatment.”

Americas
All of the Canadian cities covered by the survey appear in the top 25 rankings for health and sanitation. Calgary is followed by Ottawa in 4th place with a score of 127.2. Montreal and Vancouver both rank in 10th place with a score of 123.7. Toronto is at position 21 with a rating of 122.4.

In the U.S., Honolulu ranks highest followed by Minneapolis in 5th place scoring 125.7. Boston, Lexington, Ky., and Pittsburgh share 10th place with a score of 123.7. Mexico City scores poorly at position 211 with a rating of 37.7; geographical issues and a high level of air pollution explain this low ranking. Other low-scoring cities in North America are Atlanta and Houston, in positions 96 (score 92.3) and 103 (score 85.2), respectively.

According to Ms. Powers, “Traffic congestion, industrial plants and other pollutants may have reduced air quality, which may undercut the otherwise pleasant living standards in some U.S. cities.”

Cities in Central and South America tend to rank much lower than those in North America. San Juan in Puerto Rico ranks highest in 67th place (score 108.9). Port Au Prince is the lowest-ranking city in the region at position 212 with an index of 34.

Asia-Pacific
Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand both rank in 18th place, with a rating of 123.1. All the Australian cities covered by the survey rank higher than New York, the base city. Adelaide is the highest-scoring city in Australia in 35th place (score 119.5) while Sydney is the lowest in 62nd place (score 111.3). Japan is home to the five highest-rated cities in Asia. Katsuyama leads in 9th place with a score of 123.8, followed by Kobe and Omuta both in 25th place (score 122.0). Tokyo, Nagoyaand Osaka share 53rd place (score 113.5). Else where in this region Singapore ranks 50 with a score of 114.0, while Hong Kong ranks 117 with a score of 80.8. Shanghai and Beijing are China’s highest and lowest - ranking cities in 134th (score73.8) and 166th (score 60.3) places, respectively.

Modernization of medical infrastructure has improved living standards in these Chinese cities. However, air pollution and inadequate waste removal and sewage systems are still a concern, particularly in Beijing.

Indian cities score relatively poorly for health and sanitation, with scores ranging from 52.8 for Chennai (177th place) to 38.2 for Mumbai (209th place). Most Indian cities are densely populated with poor waste removal and sewage systems. These issues, combined with increasing air pollution, contribute to their relatively low ratings.

“Expatriates on assignment in some locations — for example Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Asia, Europe and Latin America can face harsher living conditions and lower standards of medical care and facilities than they are accustomed to,” commented Mr.Parakatil. “The threat of infectious diseases and environmental risks are very real in some cities and should be taken into account. Migration and mobility can exacerbate the transmission of diseases, and this should be a top concern for employers managing international assignments.”

Rankings for overall quality of living
Mercer’s overall ranking for quality of living has Revealed that Zurich again ranks as the world’s top city, with a rating of 108.1. The city narrowly out ranks Geneva, which scores 108.0. Both Vancouver and Vienna follow in third place, scoring 107.7.

Cities in Europe and Australia continue to dominate the top end of the rankings for overall quality of living. Auckland and Düsseldorf share fifth place and score 107.3 points. Frankfurt and Munich follow with scores of 107.1 and 106.9, respectively. Bernand Sydney both score 106.5 points in 9th place.

The analysis is based on an evaluation of 39 quality of living criteria for each city, including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transportation and other public services.

Baghdad remains the world’s least enticing city for expatriates with a score of 14.5. Other low-scoring cities for overall quality of living include Brazzaville in Congo (29.5), Bangui in the Central African Republic (30.6) and Khartoum in Sudan (31.0). Mr. Parakatil concluded, “In recent years, the gap between low-ranking and high-ranking cities has widened. While standards have improved in some regions, there remains a stark contrast between those cities where overall quality of living is good and those experiencing political and economic turmoil.”

Data for the survey was largely collected between September and November 2006 and is regularly updated to take into account changing circumstances. The Mercer database contains more than 350 cities, however only 215 cities have been considered for the quality of living 2007 ranking in order to compare from one year to the next. The worldwide rankings are produced from the most recent Worldwide Quality of Living Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Mercer’s study is based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 39 key quality of living determinants, grouped in the following categories:

	Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement,etc.)
	Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc.)
	Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc.)
	Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc.)
	Schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc.)
	Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc.)
	Recreation (restaurants, theaters, cinemas, sports and leisure,etc.)
	Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc.)
	Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc.)
	Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

Top 100 City Rankings for Overall Quality of Living