Every year Mercer, one of the world’s largest HR consultancy firms, releases its Quality of Living Index, which looks at the cities that provide the best quality of life.
Looking at 450 cities across the world, Mercer takes into account the following metrics to judge which cities made the list of the best quality of life — which therefore shows what it feels are the best and worst:
Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement)
Economic environment (currency-exchange regulations, banking services)
Socio-cultural environment (media availability and censorship, limitations on personal freedom)
Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution)
Schools and education (standards and availability of international schools)
Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transportation, traffic congestion)
Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure)
Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars)
Housing (rental housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services)
Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)
Mercer made a list of 230 countries and Business Insider took a look at the bottom 33 in the world.
33. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania –The largest city in the country is rife with crime.
32. Lahore, Pakistan— The city has a generally low standard of living due to the high number of slums. It has also been under attack from terrorism. During Easter this year, a Taliban militant faction claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in a public park which killed dozens of people.
31. Luanda, Angola — Mercer said Luanda is the most expensive city to live in the world due to extraordinarily high living expenses and poverty-level wages for locals.
30. Yangon, Myanmar — The city formerly known as Rangoon is continually stricken by inter-religious violence between Buddhists and Muslims, leading to a high murder rate.
29. Karachi, Pakistan –It’s the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the world but is also one of the most violent. Kidnapping, violent crime, and muggings are commonplace.
28. Tehran, Iran–Tehran has high poverty levels, social instability, and murder. Kidnapping, theft, fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking are just some of the regular crimes committed in the country’s capital.
27. Lome, Togo — The city’s infrastructure is deteriorating and the African nation faces problems with living conditions and rubbish collection.
26. Tashkent, Uzbekistan —The capital in the central Asia country has become a hotbed for terrorism over the last year. In 2015, the US embassy in Tashkent was attacked for the first time in 11 years and the government is trying to counteract growth in Islamic extremism.
25. Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire —The British embassy has issued warnings against anyone travelling there unless essential. It said “violent crime can occur at any time” and that the city, and the country, has a “high threat of terrorism.”
24. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia —The social friction between the government and its citizens is high, especially after protests over building plans killed students and farmers.
23. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan– The city suffers from chronic water shortages due to state mismanagement, which is crippling for citizens where temperatures soared as high as 47.2 degrees Celsius (116.96 F) in 2015.
22. Harare, Zimbabwe —The capital is poverty stricken and millions of citizens are starving due to 75% of maize crops failing, prompting Mugabe to appeal for £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) to help pay for grain and other food.
21. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan —The government is battling continual attacks from members of Islamic State — also known as ISIS and Daesh.
20. Lagos, Nigeria —The country’s largest city battles environmental threats, such as riptides, annually. Citizens are also under continual threats to their personal safety, including the kidnapping of students and murder.
19. Abuja, Nigeria —The city, like Lagos, suffers from high crime rates from inter-communal violence.
18. Dushanbe, Tajikistan —Poverty and energy shortages are a huge issue for the city and country as a whole.
17. Dhaka, Bangladesh —Dhaka is one of the world’s most populated cities and its garment exports bolster its economy. But working conditions and human rights, as well as local poverty for a bulk of its citizens, are criticised and under scrutiny by world governments and charities.
16. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso — The city is under continual threat of terrorist attacks and earlier this year, an Al-Qaeda bombing at a popular hotel killed 29 people.
15. Tripoli, Libya —The city was carved up by two rival warlords last year and even the main airport was destroyed in the summer of 2015 and all the main embassies have been closed down. Migrants and refugees are also flooding into the country due to its proximity to Europe.
14. Niamey, Niger– Protests, governmental corruption, and local poverty place this city onto the list.
13. Antananarivo, Madagascar — The political instability hinders any chance of continuous development.
12. Bamako, Mali —The city was rocked by terrorist attacks last year when Daesh militants took 170 hostages and killed 20 of them in a mass shooting at the Radisson Blu hotel.
11. Nouakchott, Mauritania– Overcrowding, droughts, and poverty have helped fill the city with slums.
10. Conakry, Guinea Republic — Violent crime, protests, and strikes wreak havoc in Conakry.
9. Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo — Ethnic nationalist conflict is rife in the city and NGOs have tried to step in to provide aid and food relief to the city and the rest of the country.
8. Brazzaville, Congo– Government corruption has triggered huge protests in the city which led to a number of people being killed by the police.
7. Damascus, Syria — Mercer says the city has “witnessed continual violence and terrorist attacks that weigh upon the daily life of locals and expatriates.”
6. N’Djamena, Chad–The city in one of the world’s poorest countries has suffered at the hands of militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The group carries out frequent suicide bombings in the city.
5. Khartoum, Sudan —It’s the second largest city in Sudan and is a key recruiting ground for Daesh.
4. Port Au Prince, Haiti —The city is rife with violent crime and is dangerous for travellers. Rapes and robberies are common and there is a worrying growth in vigilante violence.
3. Sana’a, Yemen —The largest city in Yemen has been devastated by airstrikes from Saudi Arabia as the country has become a battleground in the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
2. Bangui, Central African Republic —The capital city is incredibly poor and many citizens rely on aid for survival. On top of that, violent sectarian clashes erupt regularly in the area.
1. Baghdad, Iraq — The capital city has suffered severe infrastructural damage from several wars and continual on the ground violence. It continues to face threats from Daesh.
Indian cities are conspicuous with their absence
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