A recent survey has named Vancouver third in the world for quality of life.
Vienna placed first, with Zurich in second. However, Vancouver shared third place in a three-way split with Auckland and Munich. With that being said, this is the first time since the inception of the ranking that a Canadian city has placed in the top three.
Vienna has placed first for the past ten consecutive years.
The survey, complied by Mercer, a human-resources consultancy, determines the ranking based on 39 criteria. Some of these include housing, political stability, crime, leisure, air pollution, infrastructure, the health system, education and the economy.
“The prominence of Canadian cities in this global ranking showcases how the quality of living in this country is important not only for those who live here, but also for attracting multinational corporations and their employees,” said Gordon Frost, Partner and Career Business Leader for Mercer Canada.
“As organizations work to navigate the workforce for the future, this is one of the critical elements to identify which location is the most relevant for your employees.”
Mercer said all US cities covered in the analysis fell in the rankings this year, with the exception of New York, which rose one place to 44 as crime rates there continue to fall. San Fransisco was the top-ranked US city at 34.
In contrast, the lowest ranked city was Baghdad at 231. Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, and Sanaa in Yemen were 230th and 229th respectively.
This year, Mercer used a separate ranking on personal safety, and Luxembourg was named as the safest city in the world.
Quality of Life
- Vienna, Austria
- Zürich, Switzerland
- Vancouver, Canada
- Munich, Germany
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Basel, Switzerland
- Elana Shepert, Vancouver Is Awesome, with files from Relax News
