Dubai ranks 34 in the world for infrastructure - according to Mercer 'Quality of Living' Survey

The annual report conducted by the leading global HR consultancy uses New York as a base city to compare and rank 221 cities around the world. Mercer conducts the survey to help governments understand the specific factors that affect their residents' quality of living and for multi-national companies to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.

The study looks at various elements that include political, social, economic, socio-cultural, along with medical and health considerations, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing and the natural environment. This year's index also set out to uncover cities with the best infrastructure to find a correlation between the level of substructure and how it affects quality of living.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi stand highest among the region and Arab countries in quality of living relative to other cities in the region. Doha ranked (106), Manama (126), Kuwait City (119), Riyadh (157) and Muscat (103). Manama (126), Cairo (141) and Damascus (197) had the highest drops in the region (dropping 13, 6 and 18 places respectively). This downfall is due to unstable internal affairs and political unrest.

Globally, Vienna, retained the top spot again this year, followed by Zurich second and Auckland third. Lowest among the global rankings are Bangui, Central African Republic (220) and Baghdad, Iraq (221).

That the two UAE cities maintained and exceeded their high ranking shows that development is up to par with major cities around the world, providing a favourable atmosphere for employees to thrive, not only in work but in the life they will ultimately lead there as well.

This year's special area of focus, City Infrastructure, took account of factors such as electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the availability of international flights from local airports and uncovered cities with the best infrastructure.

"Infrastructure is crucial to maintain a high quality of living and should not be under estimated. It can cause the city severe disadvantages when it is underprovided and a significant edge when it is well established" states Zaid Kamhawi, Mercer's IPS Business Leader in the Middle East, at Mercer.

Dubai took an impressive lead among Arab states to rank 34 in the world, reaffirming the city's position as an international hub up to par with cities around the world. It beat out Geneva (47), Miami (48), San Francisco (55), Barcelona (57), Rome (72) and Kuala Lampur (77), surpassing major global cities in terms of infrastructure readiness and development.

Kamhawi, commented, "It is no surprise that there is a near perfect correlation between a city's infrastructure ranking and the overall Quality of living ranking. The constant pace of progress and development found in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are in no doubt major contributing factors to their position as top-ranking cities in the region. The former's ranking is quite extraordinary, being among the top international metropolises - showing that hard work thus far has paid off and will continue to do so."

He added, "Infrastructure in Dubai is among the best in the world, in part due to their first-class airport facilities, telecommunication services, international and local connectivity, and a high standard of public services. Its high ranking in the infrastructure index reflects a combination of high level of public services offered, with its extensive public transportation system including airports buses and railroad services."

Globally, Singapore is at the top of the City Infrastructure index, followed by Frankfurt and Munich in second and third place. Copenhagen (4) and Dusseldorf (5) fill the next two slots, while Hong Kong and London share sixth place due to the elevation in public services offered and an extensive public transportation system. As Port-au-Prince has the poorest public service, its ranks the lowest (221) at the bottom of the global list.

Emphasising the importance of such findings in allowing companies to ensure that their employees are compensated adequately, in accordance with local circumstances; Kamhawi concludes, "Many factors should be taken into consideration when sending employees on international assignments in order to determine fair and adequate compensation for them. Companies should regard the impact of different aspects such as the city's stability, medical and health services and the implementation of law on expatriate appointments"

Mercer produces worldwide quality-of-living rankings annually from its most recent Worldwide Quality of Living Surveys.