International HR and Business Consulting giant, Mercer has released its 2016 Quality of Living survey.
In this latest ranking, the 18th of the annual series, Lagos and Abuja are the only Nigerian cities to feature.
While Lagos is ranked 211, just a place below Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, Abuja sits one place below it at 212, a spot it shares with Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
The highest ranked African city is Durban in South Africa, at 85th, while the least ranked in Africa is the Central African Republic’s capital city, Bangui, at 229th, one above the least ranked in the world, the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Only 230 cities in the world are ranked.
The top-ranked cities in the world are in Europe and Australia.
Vienna in Austria is ranked 1st, Zurich in Switzerland is 2nd and Auckland in New Zealand occupies the 3rd spot.
The rankings are meant to guide multinationals in international employee placement, especially when it involves their safety and remuneration abroad.
To arrive at the survey, access to healthcare, quality of education, housing and environmental factors are all taken into account.
According to Rob Thissen, Consultant on Global Mobility at Mercer ME, “Rankings in many regions were affected by recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, which resulted in currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices.”
“Ensuring that the needs of expatriates and their families are met wherever work takes them is an essential part of talent retention and recruitment strategies for most multinationals,” said Slagin Parakatil, Principal at Mercer and responsible for the quality-of-living research.
He added: “Managing safety and health issues is of utmost importance, especially for employees who relocate with a family. Our surveys enable companies to take adequate precautions for them.”
See the full list below…
COMPLETE LIST OF THE BEST (AND WORST) CITIES IN THE WORLD TO LIVE
1 Vienna, Austria
2 Zurich, Switzerland
3 Auckland, New Zealand
4 Munich, Germany
5 Vancouver, Canada
6 Dusseldorf, Germany
7 Frankfurt, Germany
8 Geneva, Switzerland
9 Copenhagen, Denmark
10 Sydney, Australia
11 Amsterdam, Netherlands
12 Wellington, New Zealand
13 Berlin, Germany
14 Bern, Switzerland
15 Toronto, Canada
16 Melbourne, Australia
17 Ottawa, Canada
18 Hamburg, Germany
19 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
20 Stockholm, Sweden
21 Brussels, Belgium
22 Perth, Australia
23 Montreal, Canada
24 Stuttgart, Germany
25 Nurnberg, Germany
26 Singapore, Singapore
27 Adelaide, Australia
28 San Francisco, United States
29 Canberra, Australia
30 Helsinki, Finland
31 Oslo, Norway
32 Calgary, Canada
33 Dublin, Ireland
34 Boston, United States
35 Honolulu, United States
36 Brisbane, Australia
37 Paris, France
38 Lyon, France
39 Barcelona, Spain
39 London, United Kingdom
41 Milan, Italy
42 Lisbon, Portugal
43 Chicago, United States
44 New York City, United States
44 Tokyo, Japan
46 Edinburgh, United Kingdom
46 Kobe, Japan
46 Seattle, United States
49 Los Angeles, United States
49 Yokohama, Japan
51 Washington, United States
52 Madrid, Spain
53 Birmingham, United Kingdom
53 Rome, Italy
55 Glasgow, United Kingdom
56 Pittsburgh, United States
57 Philadelphia, United States
58 Osaka, Japan
59 Aberdeen, United Kingdom
60 Leipzig, Germany
61 Minneapolis, United States
62 Nagoya, Japan
63 Dallas, United States
64 Belfast, United Kingdom
65 Houston, United States
66 Miami, United States
67 Atlanta, United States
68 St. Louis, United States
69 Prague, Czech Republic
70 Detroit, United States
70 Hong Kong
72 Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe
73 Seoul, South Korea
74 San Juan, Puerto Rico
75 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
76 Ljubljana, Slovenia
77 Budapest, Hungary
78 Montevideo, Uruguay
79 Vilnius, Lithuania
79 Warsaw, Poland
81 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
82 Bratislava, Slovakia
83 Port Louis, Mauritius
84 Taipei, Taiwan
85 Durban, South Africa
86 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
87 Athens, Greece
88 Limassol, Cyprus
89 Tallinn, Estonia
90 Riga, Latvia
91 Busan, South Korea
92 Cape Town, South Africa
93 Buenos Aires, Argentina
94 Santiago, Chile
95 Johannesburg, South Africa
96 Panama City, Panama
97 Victoria, Seychelles
98 Zagreb, Croatia
99 Wroclaw, Poland
100 Taichung, Taiwan
101 Shanghai, China
102 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
103 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
104 Tel Aviv, Israel
105 San Jose, Costa Rica
106 Brasilia, Brazil
107 Muscat, Oman
108 Monterrey, Mexico
109 Bucharest, Romania
110 Doha, Qatar
111 Noumea, New Caledonia
112 Nassau, Bahamas
113 Tunis, Tunisia
114 Asuncion, Paraguay
115 Sofia, Bulgaria
116 Rabat, Morocco
117 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
118 Beijing, China
119 Guangzhou, China
120 Amman, Jordan
121 Sao Paulo, Brazil
122 Istanbul, Turkey
123 Lima, Peru
124 Kuwait City, Kuwait
125 Manaus, Brazil
126 Casablanca, Morocco
127 Mexico City, Mexico
128 Quito, Ecuador
129 Bangkok, Thailand
130 Bogota, Colombia
131 Windhoek, Namibia
132 Colombo, Sri Lanka
133 Manama, Bahrain
134 Chengdu, China
135 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
136 Manila, Philippines
137 Nanjing, China
137 Shenzhen, China
139 Hyderabad, India
139 Xi’an, China
141 Belgrade, Serbia
142 Jakarta, Indonesia
142 Gaborone, Botswana
144 Pune, India
145 Bangalore, India
146 Chongqing, China
147 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
147 Qingdao, China
149 Lusaka, Zambia
150 Chennai, India
151 Kingston, Jamaica
152 Guatemala City, Guatemala
152 Mumbai, India
152 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
155 Hanoi, Vietnam
156 La Paz, Bolivia
157 Shenyang, China
158 Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
159 Skopje, Macedonia
160 Kolkata, India
161 New Delhi, India
162 Dakar, Senegal
163 Libreville, Gabon
164 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
165 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
166 Accra, Ghana
167 Moscow, Russia
168 Jilin, China
169 Kampala, Uganda
170 Vientiane, Laos
171 Cairo, Egypt
172 Managua, Nicaragua
173 San Salvador, El Salvador
174 Saint Petersburg, Russia
175 Blantyre, Malawi
176 Almaty, Kazakhstan
176 Kiev, Ukraine
178 Maputo, Mozambique
179 Tirana, Albania
180 Beirut, Lebanon
181 Cotonou, Benin
182 Yerevan, Armenia
183 Banjul, Gambia
184 Nairobi, Kenya
185 Caracas, Venezuela
186 Tegucigalpa, Honduras
187 Algiers, Algeria
188 Tbilisi, Georgia
189 Djibouti, Djibouti
190 Minsk, Belarus
191 Kigali, Rwanda
191 Havana, Cuba
193 Islamabad, Pakistan
194 Yaounde, Cameroon
195 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
196 Douala, Cameroon
197 Baku, Azerbaijan
198 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
199 Lahore, Pakistan
199 Luanda, Angola
201 Yangon, Myanmar
202 Karachi, Pakistan
203 Tehran, Iran
204 Lome, Togo
205 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
206 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
207 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
208 Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan
209 Harare, Zimbabwe
210 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
211 Lagos, Nigeria
212 Abuja, Nigeria
212 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
214 Dhaka, Bangladesh
215 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
216 Tripoli, Libya
217 Niamey, Niger
218 Antananarivo, Madagascar
219 Bamako, Mali
220 Nouakchott, Mauritania
221 Conakry, Guinea
222 Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of
223 Brazzaville, Congo, Republic of
224 Damascus, Syria
225 N’Djamena, Chad
226 Khartoum, Sudan
227 Port-au-Prince, Haiti
228 Sana’a, Yemen
229 Bangui, Central African Republic
230 Baghdad, Iraq