Switzerland is home to the most livable cities in the world, while Baghdad, which suffered war and occupation in 2003, ranked the worst place to live in the world in a survey published Monday.
Concerns over security and precarious infrastructure were among the reasons putting Baghdad at the bottom of a survey on the quality of life in 215 world cities by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland were one and two in the poll, which takes into account factors such as the political and social environment, the level of education, the efficiency of transport systems and standards of recreational facilities.
Vancouver, on Canada’s Pacific Coast, was pushed down into third.
Canadian cities tops for health
A separate poll on top cities for health and sanitation had Canada’s Calgary first with Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver also in the top 10, along with Swiss capital Bern, Zurich and Geneva.
“The top cities for health and sanitation have a combination of excellent hospital services and medical supplies and low levels of air pollution and infectious disease,” said Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer.
Lowest ranked for health and sanitation was the Azerbaijani capital Baku because of the short supply of medical services and poor waste removal, the report said.
Both surveys were mostly carried out in November 2003 and use New York as a starting point with a base score of 100. In the overall quality of life poll, New York finished 38th, up from 44th last year, 6.5 points behind Zurich and Geneva.
Baghdad scored 14.5, 14 points adrift of 214th-placed Bangui in the Central African Republic.
“The threat of terrorism in the Middle East and the political and economic turmoil in African countries has increased the disparity between cities at the top and the bottom end of the rankings,” said Parakatil.
