Taipei City moved up one spot to 84th worldwide in the 2018 Mercer Quality of Living Survey released March 20 by the U.S.-headquartered consulting firm.
 
The improvement was attributed by Mercer to a common trend among emerging cities in the 20th edition of the annual survey: decades of investment in housing, infrastructure and recreational facilities as part of efforts to attract talent and multinational businesses.
 
Slagin Parakatil, principal at Mercer responsible for compiling the survey, said “Decision-makers increasingly acknowledge that globalization is challenging cities to inform, innovate and compete to attract people and investments—the key to a city’s future.”
 
Taichung City in central Taiwan is the only other local metropolis to feature in the 231-strong list. Its ranking remained unchanged at 101st from the year before.
 
In the Asia-Pacific, Auckland is the top city in third followed by Sydney, 10th and Wellington, 15th. For Asia, Singapore holds down the No. 1 spot at 25th, with Kobe and Tokyo sharing 50th.
 
Other major cities in the region performing well include Hong Kong, 71st; Seoul, 79th; Kuala Lumpur, 85th; Shanghai, 103rd; Beijing 119th; Bangkok, 132nd; Manila, 137th; and Jakarta, 142nd.
 
Globally, the top 10 was dominated by European cities. Vienna leads the survey for the ninth consecutive year followed by Zurich in second and Auckland and Munich in joint third.
 
The leading three cities in Africa comprise the Mauritian capital Port Louis, 83rd, and South Africa’s Durban and Cape Town, 89th and 94th, respectively. In the Americas, it is Vancouver, fifth, Toronto, 18th, and Ottawa, 19th, with San Francisco the highest ranking U.S. metropolis at 35th. For the Middle East, Dubai ranks highest at 74th, followed by Abu Dhabi, 77th and Tel Aviv, 104th.
 
The survey is based on data largely analyzed between September and November 2017 spanning consumer goods; economic, political and social climates; housing; medical and health considerations; natural environment; public services and transportation; schools and education; and recreation. (JSM)