Amsterdam ranks 13 in world list of most livable cities

Just like in 2007, Amsterdam this year again ranks number 13 in a list of the world’s most livable cities.

European cities dominate the worldwide rankings of locations with the best quality of living, according to Mercer’s 2008 Quality of Living survey. Zurich retains its 2007 title as the highest ranked city, followed jointly by Vienna (2), Geneva (2), then Vancouver (4) and Auckland (5).

Amsterdam at its best: people relaxing at a canalside café
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In the UK, London ranks 38, while Birmingham and Glasgow are jointly 56. The highest entry for the United States is Honolulu, appearing at number 28. The cities with the lowest quality of living ranking are Ndjamena (211), Khartoum (212), Brazzaville (213) and Bangui (214). Baghdad, ranking 215, retains its position at the bottom of the table.

The rankings are based on a point scoring index, which sees Zurich scoring 108, while Baghdad scores 13.5. Cities are compared to New York as the base city, with an index score of 100. The quality of living survey covers 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments.
- Source: Press release, Quality of Living global city rankings – Mercer survey, June 10, 2008

Mercer has designed an objective way of measuring quality of living for expatriates based on factors that people consider representative of quality of living. Once a year, Mercer conducts a quality of living study in more than 380 cities worldwide based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 10 key categories and 39 criteria or factors, each having coherent weightings reflecting their relative importance.

Among the criteria Mercer takes into account are economy, education, public transport and recreation. Crime statistics play a part as well, as do such issues as personal freedom and media vs. censorship.

Amsterdam has ranked higher in the past, but a lengthy program of traffic-disrupting city-wide construction projects has in recent years contributed to a slight dip.

Nevertheless, on a scale of 1-10 — with 10 being best — tourists rate Amsterdam a solid 8

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