DUBLIN HAS a better quality of life than cities such as London, Boston and Barcelona, according to the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey published today by Mercer consultants.
Dublin's quality-of-life ranking moved up two places in the annual survey, which is conducted to help governments and companies which place employees abroad.
Dublin is ranked 25th out of 215 countries worldwide and eighth in the EU league. European cities dominate the list of countries scoring highest on the quality-of-life index. Zurich tops the table again, followed by Vienna and Geneva. Vancouver and Auckland complete the top five.
African countries again dominate the list of countries scoring lowest for quality of life. Baghdad remains at the bottom of the table, followed by Bangui in the Central African Republic, Brazzaville in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Khartoum in Sudan.
The Mercer study assesses 39 quality-of-life determinants, including the political and social environment, the economy, sociocultural factors, health, education, public services, recreation and housing.
Vienna is first in the ranking of EU capital cities, followed by Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels and Berlin. Dublin's eighth place remains unchanged since last year. The east European capitals of Sofia and Bucharest are at the bottom of the EU table.
Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer, said Europe dominated the quality-of-life list in terms of infrastructure, health and political stability.
"Large discrepancies continue to exist within this region," he said. "Living standards in eastern European cities have been catching up with western European cities."
Dublin is ranked 17th in the world, or sixth in the EU, for personal safety. The criteria for personal safety include internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement, and relationships with other countries.
Luxembourg has the highest personal safety ranking in the world, followed by Berne, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich. Baghdad was found to be the world's least safe city, followed by Kinshasa, Karachi, Nairobi and Bangui.
