Dublin has been rated as one of the top cities in the world to live in with one of the cleanest environments in the world, according to a new global survey published today by employee benefits consulting firm Mercer.
Dublin was ranked at 35 with 101 points in the overall quality of life survey, coming ahead of cities such as London (41) and New York (41). The capital also ranked tenth in the top fifteen of European capital cities, ahead of London, Madrid, Lisbon, Rome and Athens.
In the environmental rankings Dublin came in 45th. The worst performing city on environmental criteria was Mexico City while the Canadian city of Calgary topped the poll in the environmental rankings.
Mercer’s annual quality of life survey has revealed Zurich as the world’s city with the best quality of life, with 106.5 points. Last year’s top scoring city, Vancouver, slips to joint second place with Vienna, with a rating of 106 points.
Cities in Europe, Australia and New Zealand continue to dominate the top of the table with Sydney and Geneva sharing joint fourth place with 105.5 points, and Auckland, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Helsinki being ranked sixth, scoring 105.
The analysis was based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life criteria in 215 cities world-wide, including political, social, economic and environmental factors. Key issues such as personal safety, health services, schools/education, public transport and recreational facilities dictate a city’s overall ranking in the survey.
The survey was conducted to assist multinational companies in assessing international allowances for their expatriate staff.
Dublin’s public services and transport network polled well earning 60 out of the 70 points available in this category. This compares with a 64 out of 70 result for Vienna which came second in the overall rankings.
Key findings in this category are: "There is a comprehensive public transport system in Dublin. Traffic is often congested during rush hours. The airport is situated at 8kms from the city centre, and takes 30 minutes journey by bus, offering a good range of flights within Western Europe and a fair choice of destinations to North America."
The world’s least appealing city remains Brazzaville in Congo, despite its score at the bottom of the table rising by one point from last year to 27.5. Other poor-scoring cities for overall quality of life include Bangui in the Central African Republic (29), Khartoum in Sudan (31.5) and Pointe Noire in Congo (32.5).