Dubai has been named the best city to live in for expats in the Middle East and Africa region in the latest annual survey by consultants Mercer.
Globally, Dubai was ranked 74th, unchanged from last year’s Quality of Living Survey but regionally it retained the number one position for the sixth year in a row.
Mercer’s survey enables multinational companies and other organisations to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.
Vienna topped the 2018 global ranking for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Zurich and Auckland and Munich in joint third place.
In the Middle East and Africa region, Dubai was closely followed by neighbouring Abu Dhabi, which claimed 77th place, up two places on last year.
The region’s lowest-ranked cities for quality of living included Damascus (225) and Baghdad (231).
Rob Thissen, senior associate at Mercer in Dubai with responsibility for Global Mobility Services, said: “Dubai continues to make a name for itself as a popular destination for companies opening offices and sending employees to the Middle East.
“The government is consistently working on furthering its infrastructure, safety, security and health facilities, to enhance the quality of living for those who choose to live and work here.“
This year, Mercer also provided a separate ranking on City Sanitation, which analysed cities’ waste removal and sewage infrastructure, levels of infectious disease, air pollution, water availability and quality.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi topped the City Sanitation ranking in the Middle East and Africa, surpassing other cities around the world like London, Paris and Los Angeles. Other cities in the GCC with a top 100 rank included Muscat (70) and Kuwait (99).
Thissen added: “Multinational companies need a full picture of conditions on the ground to help calculate fair and consistent expatriate compensation – a real challenge in locations with a compromised quality of living.”
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