Breaking finance and business news, tax information, jobs and more for finance directors and senior finance professionals.

Zurich retains its 2007 title as the highest ranked city according to Mercer’s 2008 Quality of Living survey, followed jointly by Vienna (2), Geneva (2), then Vancouver (4) and Auckland (5).

In the UK, London ranks 38, while Birmingham and Glasgow are jointly 56. The highest entry for the United States is Honolulu, appearing at number 28.

The cities with the lowest quality of living ranking are Ndjamena (211), Khartoum (212), Brazzaville (213) and Bangui (214). Baghdad, ranking 215, retains its position at the bottom of the table.

The rankings are based on a point scoring index, which sees Zurich scoring 108, while Baghdad scores 13.5. Cities are compared to New York as the base city, with an index score of 100.

Employees on international assignments 

The quality of living survey covers 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments. 

The survey also identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement and relationships with other countries.

Luxembourg is top, followed by Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich, all equally placed at number 2. Chicago, Houston and San Francisco are amongst the safest cities in the US, all ranking at 53.

Baghdad (215) is the world’s least safe city along with Kinshasa (214), Karachi (213), Nairobi (212) and Bangui (211).

Luxembourg scores 131.4 on the index while Baghdad scores 3.8.

According to Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer, “Businesses face constant challenges in identifying new markets, expanding operations and acquiring and strategically deploying resources. Establishing suitable allowances linked to local costs and quality of living is essential in encouraging expatriate employees with transferable skills to accept international assignments.”

He added that personal and family safety was of paramount importance when employees considered opportunities overseas.

“Cities that are, or are perceived as, unsafe may experience difficulties in attracting the best people and skills,” Parakatil said.

Americas

Canadian cities dominate the rankings in the Americas. Vancouver (4) has the best quality of living followed by Toronto (15), Ottawa (19) and Montreal (22).

In the US, after Honolulu (28) comes San Francisco (29), Boston (37) and Chicago (44). Washington, DC, ranks 44, above New York (49).

In Central and South America, San Juan in Puerto Rico retains the highest ranking at 72, followed by Montevideo at 76.

Port au Prince in Haiti ranks lowest in the region at 202. In terms of the index, Vancouver scores 107.6 compared to Port au Prince’s 39.8.

In terms of personal safety, Canadian cities again perform best with Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver all ranked jointly at 22.

In the US, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Lexington, San Francisco and Winston-Salem all share rank 53. Elsewhere in the region, Santo Domingo has the highest ranking at 92 followed by Panama City (96) and Monterrey (99).

Bogota (207) in Colombia has the lowest levels of personal safety. The Canadian cities score 115.8 compared to Bogota’s 30.4.

Parakatil said that personal safety within Canadian cities ranked among the highest in the region.

“This is due to a relatively low crime rate and a stable political environment. In contrast, many of the Latin American cities such as Caracas, Bogotá or Port au Prince continue to be undermined by crime and political and economic turmoil,” he added, pointing out that traffic congestion and pollution have also had an impact.

Europe

Switzerland and Germany dominate the European cities with the best quality of living, each having three cities represented in the top 10.

Bern, in Switzerland, ranks 9 following behind Zurich and Geneva. Dusseldorf (6), Munich and Frankfurt (both at 7) represent Germany.

Outside the top 10 are Copenhagen (11), Amsterdam (13), Brussels (14), Berlin (16) and Luxembourg (17). Dublin, ranking 25, is followed by Paris (32), Barcelona (42) and Madrid (43). Lisbon is number 44 and is followed by Rome, 55, up from 61 in 2007.

Prague (71) is the highest-ranking eastern European city followed by Budapest (74), Vilnius (78), Ljubljana (82) and Warsaw (85).

>>>>> article continues >>>>>