After evaluating the quality of life of 221 cities around the world, Mercer’s results for 2010’s “Quality of Living Survey” just came up on May 26 with Vienna making it to the top. War-torn Baghdad, capital of Iraq, came in last in the survey.
A known reputable global consultancy firm, widely trusted for HR, financial advices, products and services, Mercer had greatly influenced how hundreds of businesses operate across the globe whom they have partnered with. They have put up offices in regional locations including Asia, Australasia & Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, Middle East and Africa. With their over 19,000 employees worldwide specializing in retirement, employee benefits, actuarial, investment consulting and information product solutions, they have earned a good name through the objective, expert guidance they provide to their clients, most especially in addressing relevant human resource issues, both domestically and globally. Operating in more than 40 countries and territories, the company has the local knowledge and worldwide presence to develop and implement global human resource solutions.
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The report, which the company performs annually, intends to serve as information resources for multi-national organizations and government agencies whose operations involve transferring employees between countries and is not designed to influence foreign investments or promote tourism. Most internationally-operating companies use the survey’s data to determine how much they pay their employees, however, in as much as Mercer insists that their annual report only serves as information purposes, many of these companies considers the list as among their deciding factor as to where they open plants, branches or offices of their respective operations.
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Slagin Parakatil, Mercer’s Senior Researcher said in a statement, “As the world economy becomes more globalized, cities beyond the traditional financial centers are emerging as attractive places in which to expand or establish a business. Cities in many emerging markets, such as in the Middle East or Asia, have seen a significant influx of foreign companies and their expatriate employees in recent years.” He also added, “To ensure their expatriates are compensated appropriately and an adequate hardship allowance is included in their benefits package, companies seek a clear picture of the quality of living in these cities. We have reviewed our index to reflect these developments and it now better represents the cities that most interest our clients.”
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This year, Mercer had increased the number of cities it surveyed; now covering 221 cities from the 215 last year. The new selection now includes prominent capitals and major cities around the globe which emerged beyond the traditional financial centers as attractive places to expand or establish a business – - – and are now among those in Mercer’s database. The longer list, being recently updated, better reflects where today’s international companies are sending their expatriate employees in the current business environment. But along with the revision (increased list), direct trend comparison would not be possible until 2011.
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There were many factors considered as the company conducted their study. The list was completed after months of data collection and regular information update, taking into account the city’s political, social and economic climate. The socio-cultural environment is equally considered. Medical care, education, housing conditions, banking services public transportation and services including power and water supply, as well as recreational aspects like restaurants, theaters, cinemas and sports facilities are also among the listed criteria.
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Mercer itself agrees that people may have varying perceptions when talking about “quality of living”. Low crime rate, clean air, decent housing conditions and a generally clean environment are among the most acceptable criteria of quality living majority would agree on. But “quality of life” remains a broadly used term which could largely differ to specific group of people’s income level, social status, health, education and their environmental conditions. For the purpose of their report, and so as not to confuse the broad and diverse definition of “quality of life” along with the widely different views on factors considered as concrete representations of, the company’s survey based their assessment on the degree as to which expatriates enjoy the potential standard of living in a particular city, reflecting the interaction of the political, socio-economic, as well as the environmental factors of the particular location. Mercer designed its own objective way of measuring the quality of living based on 10 categories which includes 39 sub-criteria. (As reflected on the table below)
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Overall, European cities dominated the list, with Vienna taking the number one spot for the second year in a row. Scoring 108.6 points earned the Austrian capital the top place. Germany’s Dusseldorf was ranked 6th and Munich and Frankfurt tied at the 7th place. There are a total of 16 European cities among the top 25 list alone translating how the overall standard of living in Western Europe remains far above the world’s average. Zurich and Geneva of Switzerland were in second and third place while Bern took the ninth place. Only five British cities made it into the top 100 cities in the list, with London being the highest at 39th followed by Aberdeen (at 53rd place), Birmingham (at 55th), Glasgow (57th) and Belfast (at 63rd). Unfortunately for U.S., none of its cities made it to top 10. Honolulu was the top U.S. city in the list (at 31st), followed by San Francisco (at 33rd) and Boston (at 37th).
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The highest for quality of living in central and South America was Point-a-Pitre in Guadalupe, but none of its cities made it to the top 50. Cities from Middle East and Africa were not among those on the top of the list, but Dubai, coming in number 75, is the top-ranked in the Middle East and Port Louis in Mauritius (at 82nd) as the best in Africa. In Asia, Singapore remains the highest-ranking city (at 28th) with Japanese cities Tokyo (at 40th), Kobe and Yokohama (both at 41st), Osaka (51st) and Nagoya (57st) trailing behind in considerable distances.
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With regards to all questions springing around, the rankings were based on a point-scoring index, scoring all the cities involved in the survey against New York (as the city base with an index score of 100), which explains how Vienna scored 108.6 and Baghdad with 14.4. For the first time, Mercer this year also ranked cities according to their eco-credential (based on water availability, waste removal, quality of sewage systems, air pollution and traffic congestion). Calgary, Honolulu and Ottawa came first, second and third on the list. To view complete results of Mercer’s 2010 surveys, click here .
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