Amongst the Mexican cities, Monterrey was No.
109 and Mexico City No. 126. South America’s
top cities were Montevideo (78), Buenos Aires
(91) and Santiago (93). Finishing lower were
La Paz (156) and Caracas (179). The Mercer’s
rankings took special note of the emerging
Brazilian city of Manaus, which ranked No. 127.
The city is already a thriving industrial centre
and has a free economic zone – its good supply
of consumer goods and relatively advanced
infrastructure is partially counteracted by the
lack of international schooling options.
The North and South American cities that
fared worst were Havana (193) and Port-auPrince (228).
The global consulting firm, Mercer, based its
index on 39 factors grouped in ten categories:
Political and social environment; Economic
environment; Socio-cultural environment;
Medical and health considerations; Schools
and education; Public services and transportation; Recreation; Consumer goods; Housing;
and Natural environment.
Singapore is top Asian city for
quality of life
It may be the world’s most expensive city,
but Singapore is ranked top amongst Asian
metropolises on the Mercer 2015 Quality of
Living rankings. The city/state came No. 25 on
the list of 230 cities covered.
Many Asian cities ranked either very high or
very low on the list. After Singapore came
Tokyo at No. 44, while near the bottom of the
list was Dushanbe in Tajikistan, in 214th place.
Other top-rated Asian centres were Hong
Kong (70), Seoul (72), Taipei (83), Shanghai
(101) and Beijing (118). Notable emerging
cities in this part of Aisa were Cheonan,
South Korea (98), and Taichung, Taiwan (99).
Chinese cities Xi’an and Chongqing both
ranked No. 142. The report said poor water
and air quality are holding them back, whilst
telecommunications and consumer factors are
positive areas.
Other Asian centres on the list were Kuala
Lumpur (84), Bangkok (117), Colombo (132),
Manila (136), Hyderabad (138), Jakarta (140)
and Pune (145), followed by Mumbai (152)
and New Delhi (154). Considerable population
increases in Mumbai and New Delhi in recent
decades have increased existing problems,
including access to clean water, air pollution,
and traffic congestion.
In the Pacific, New Zealand and Australian
cities ranked very close to the top on the list of
global cities for quality of life, with Auckland
No. 3 in the world, Sydney No. 10, Wellington
No. 12 and Melbourne No. 16.
Singapore still the world's most
expensive city
Singapore remains the most expensive city in
the world. The latest Worldwide Cost of Living
Survey for 2015 shows it more expensive
than Tokyo in the survey published by the
Economist Intelligence Unit’s list of 133 cities.
Interestingly, there were no changes amongst
the top five cities in 2015, with Paris in second
place followed by Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.
Currency shifts are identified as a major factor
in the rankings, with the stronger USD and
weaker euro. The recently unpegged Swiss
franc was not included in the rankings, which
would likely raise Zurich and Geneva to the top
spots on the expensive cities list.
Singapore, however, topped the list for a
variety of reasons.
“It is the joint most expensive place in the
world alongside Seoul to buy clothes, with
the malls of Orchard Road offering a price
premium that is over 50% higher than in
New York,” says the report. “Most significantly,
Singapore’s complex Certificate of Entitlement
fee system makes car prices excessive, and
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