Consulting firm Mercer recently published its 18th Quality of Living Survey, which ranks 230 cities they believe provide the best quality of life.
The study examines over 440 cities, and based on certain criteria, Mercer then decides which 230 make the cut. The cities are chosen and ranked according to a variety of factors, such as the political and social environment, economic conditions, education, and public services, to name a few.
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This annual study is viewed as one of the best of its kind, and as such, a city’s ‘quality of living’ can be an important factor when employers consider where to assign their mobile employees.
Only five African cities are ranked in the top 100. Port Louis (83) in Mauritius – according to the survey – has the best quality of living on the continent. It is followed by South African cities Durban (85), Cape Town (92) and Johannesburg (95), with Victoria (97) in the Seychelles featuring in 97th position.
The majority of the lower rankings are dominated by African cities. A few that are placed near the bottom-end are Bangui (239), Khartoum (226), N’Djamena (225), Brazzaville (223) and Kinshasa (222).
Quality of life survey rankings: African cities
RANKING IN AFRICA | RANKING IN WORLD | CITY | COUNTRY |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 83 | Port Louis | Mauritius |
2 | 85 | Durban | South Africa |
3 | 92 | Cape Town | South Africa |
4 | 95 | Johannesburg | South Africa |
5 | 97 | Victoria | Seychelles |
6 | 113 | Tunis | Tunisia |
7 | 116 | Rabat | Morocco |
8 | 126 | Casablanca | Morocco |
9 | 131 | Windhoek | Namibia |
10 | 142 | Gaborone | Botswana |
11 | 149 | Lusaka | Zambia |
12 | 162 | Dakar | Senegal |
13 | 163 | Libreville | Gabon |
14 | 166 | Accra | Ghana |
15 | 169 | Kampala | Uganda |
16 | 171 | Cairo | Egypt |
17 | 175 | Blantyre | Malawi |
18 | 178 | Maputo | Mozambique |
19 | 181 | Cotonou | Benin |
20 | 183 | Banjul | Gambia |
21 | 184 | Nairobi | Kenya |
22 | 187 | Algiers | Algeria |
23 | 189 | Djibouti | Djibouti |
24 | 191 | Kigali | Rwanda |
25 | 194 | Yaounde | Cameroon |
26 | 196 | Douala | Cameroon |
27 | 198 | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania |
28 | 199 | Luanda | Angola |
29 | 204 | Lome | Togo |
30 | 206 | Abidjan | Côte d'Ivoire |
31 | 207 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia |
32 | 209 | Harare | Zimbabwe |
33 | 211 | Lagos | Nigeria |
34 | 212 | Abuja | Nigeria |
35 | 215 | Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso |
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