Dubai, Abu Dhabi 'top in quality of living'

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are ranked the highest in the region in quality of living standards, a survey from global consultation firm Mercer has revealed.

Dubai comes 73 and Abu Dhabi is at 78 in the Quality of Living survey. In terms of city infrastructure, Dubai is ranked 34 globally while Abu Dhabi is 72.

According to the survey, development in Abu Dhabi and Dubai is on par with major cities around the world, providing a favourable atmosphere for employees to thrive, not only at work but in their personal lives as well.

The rankings based on the quality of living standards among other cities in the GCC are: Doha (106), Manama (126), Kuwait City (119), Riyadh (157), Muscat (103) and Manama (126),

Cairo (141) and Damascus (197) had the highest drops in the region. The decline was due to unstable internal affairs and political unrest in the cities, the survey said.

Infrastructure Focus

Dubai took an impressive lead among Arab states to rank 34 in the world, reaffirming the city's position as an international hub up to par with cities around the world.

It beat out Geneva (47), Miami (48), San Francisco (55), Barcelona (57), Rome (72) and Kuala Lampur (77), surpassing major global cities in terms of infrastructure readiness and development.

Zaid Kamhawi, Mercer's IPS Business Leader in the Middle East said: "Infrastructure is crucial to maintaining a high quality of living and should not be underestimated. It can cause the city severe disadvantages when it is underprovided and a significant edge when it is well established."

"The constant pace of progress and development found in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are, no doubt, major contributing factors to their positions as top-ranking cities in the region," Zaid added.

Infrastructure in Dubai is among the best in the world, in part due to its  first-class airport facilities, telecommunication services, international and local connectivity, and a high standard of public services, he said.

A special area of focus in the 2012 survey was city infrastructure, taking into consideration electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the availability of international flights from local airports.