It takes 9th place for personal safety; 32nd for quality of living
IN the global quest to woo foreign talent, a good 30 cities are placed above Singapore in terms of quality of living, going by consulting firm Mercer's latest rankings.
But solely on 'personal safety', Singapore is in the top league with the best - all of which happen to be in Europe.
In a ranking dominated at the top by Swiss and German cities, Singapore is 32nd in Mercer's 2008 global quality of living survey, up two places from 2007.
Canadian and Australian cities, as well as New Zealand's Auckland, also rank strongly in the top 25.
The annual survey covering 215 cities uses New York City as the benchmark with an index score of 100.
This year, top-ranked Zurich scores 108, while at the other end, Baghdad gets just 13.5 points.
Singapore's index score is 102.9, a small improvement from 102.5 last year.
In Asia (outside Australia and New Zealand), Singapore ranks highest, followed by the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Osaka. And only two US cities - Honolulu and San Francisco - are above Singapore.
Mercer's survey evaluates cities on 39 key indicators in all the major areas that affect the living environment - socio-political and cultural climate; the economy; health and sanitation; education standard; public services; recreation; availability of consumer goods; housing; and the natural environment.
It also produces a separate ranking on 'personal safety', covering issues such as internal stability; crime; effectiveness of law enforcement; and relationships with other countries.
Here, Luxembourg takes the top spot, followed by Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich, who all share second position.
Singapore - at No 9 overall, just ahead of Auckland and Wellington - is 'safest' in Asia, followed by several cities in Japan and Hong Kong.
The Mercer quality of living survey serves as a guide to governments and major companies when sending staff on overseas assignments.
Said Mercer senior researcher Slagin Parakatil: 'Establishing suitable allowances linked to local costs and quality of living is essential in encouraging expatriate employees with transferable skills to accept international assignments.'
Commenting on Singapore's results, Wong Su-Yen, managing director of Mercer Asean, said that the island's improved ranking this year reflects its strength relative to other cities in public services; transport; medical services; housing; and the socio-political environment.
'On the other hand, Singapore could further improve its standing by enhancing its socio-cultural environment, recreation options and natural environment.
'The just-released Leisure Plan by the Urban Redevelopment Authority aims to address precisely some of these issues,' she added.
'If Singapore continues to enhance its quality of living offerings, we believe the city will continue to rate favourably for expatriates looking to relocate to the region.'
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