Beirut ranks 175th globally for quality of living

The annual survey on the quality of living in 215 cities around the world ranked Beirut as the 175th most desirable city for overall living standards and 16th among 21 cities surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2009, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

Beirut ranked in 171st place worldwide and 15th in the region in the 2008 survey. Also Beirut ranked in 30th place among 33 Upper Middle Income Countries (UMIC) included in the survey.

The study evaluated the cities on the basis of 39 key quality-of-living determinants grouped in 10 categories that include political, economic and socio-cultural factors, in addition to the environment, housing, recreation, health care, education, transportation, and other public services. New York City served as the benchmark for other cities with a score of 100.

Beirut received a score of 51.9 points in 2009, down 2.6 percent from 53.3 points in 2008. Its score came below the global average of 76.4 points as well as below the MENA and Arab averages of 61.6 points and 61.2 points, respectively.

Also Beirut’s year-on-year decline in score does not compare favorably with the annual increase of 0.6 percent in the average score of the MENA region and the 0.9 percent rise in the Arab world.

On a global basis, Beirut ranked ahead of Pakistan’s capital Lahore, Honduras’ capital San Pedro Sula and Almaty in Kazakhstan, and came immediately behind Islamabad in Pakistan, Tirana in Albania and Nairobi in Kenya.

It also ranked ahead of Almaty in Kazakhstan and Minsk in Belarus, and behind Tripoli in Libya and Russia’s St. Petersburg among UMICs. Regionally, Beirut ranked ahead of Tehran, Algiers, Sanaa, Khartoum and Baghdad.

Beirut’s rank regressed four spots, posting the steepest decline in the region’s rankings. The scores of 11 cities in the MENA region improved, seven declined and three remained unchanged, while the rankings of 12 cities improved, five declined and three stayed the same.

Vienna is the world’s best city for overall quality of living with a score of 108.6 points, while Baghdad was considered to be the world’s least appealing city. The survey is conducted annually to help multinational companies assess international hardship allowance for their expatriate workers.

Mercer said businesses face constant challenges in identifying new markets, expanding operations and acquiring and strategically deploying resources. Therefore, establishing suitable allowances linked to local costs and quality of living is essential to encourage expatriate employees with transferable skills to accept international assignments.

The data for the survey is regularly updated to take account of changing circumstances.

- Daily Star