Which African cities offer the best quality of life?

Port Louis 600x300 2

Port Louis ranks 83rd globally, and first in Africa for quality of living.

Consulting firm Mercer recently published its 18th Quality of Living Survey, which ranks 230 cities they believe provide the best quality of life.

The study examines over 440 cities, and based on certain criteria, Mercer then decides which 230 make the cut. The cities are chosen and ranked according to a variety of factors, such as the political and social environment, economic conditions, education, and public services, to name a few.

This annual study is viewed as one of the best of its kind, and as such, a city’s ‘quality of living’ can be an important factor when employers consider where to assign their mobile employees.

Only five African cities are ranked in the top 100. Port Louis (83) in Mauritius – according to the survey – has the best quality of living on the continent. It is followed by South African cities Durban (85), Cape Town (92) and Johannesburg (95), with Victoria (97) in the Seychelles featuring in 97th position.

The majority of the lower rankings are dominated by African cities. A few that are placed near the bottom-end are Bangui (239), Khartoum (226), N’Djamena (225), Brazzaville (223) and Kinshasa (222).

Quality of life survey rankings: African cities
Ranking in AfricaRanking in WorldCityCountry
183Port LouisMauritius
285DurbanSouth Africa
392Cape TownSouth Africa
495JohannesburgSouth Africa
597VictoriaSeychelles
6113TunisTunisia
7116RabatMorocco
8126CasablancaMorocco
9131WindhoekNamibia
10142GaboroneBotswana
11149LusakaZambia
12162DakarSenegal
13163LibrevilleGabon
14166AccraGhana
15169KampalaUganda
16171CairoEgypt
17175BlantyreMalawi
18178MaputoMozambique
19181CotonouBenin
20183BanjulGambia
21184NairobiKenya
22187AlgiersAlgeria
23189DjiboutiDjibouti
24191KigaliRwanda
25194YaoundeCameroon
26196DoualaCameroon
27198Dar es SalaamTanzania
28199LuandaAngola
29204LomeTogo
30206AbidjanCôte d'Ivoire
31207Addis AbabaEthiopia
32209HarareZimbabwe
33211LagosNigeria
34212AbujaNigeria
35215OuagadougouBurkina Faso
36217NiameyNiger
37218AntananarivoMadagascar
38219BamakoMali
39220NouakchottMauritania
40221ConakryGuinea
41222KinshasaCongo, Democratic Republic of
42223BrazzavilleCongo, Republic of
43225N'DjamenaChad
44226KhartoumSudan
45229BanguiCentral African Republic

Safety rankings

Mercer also published a second list that ranks cities according to the security and personal safety of expats and their families. Five out the 10 least-safe cities in the world are African. They are Bangui (227), Kinshasa (226), Nairobi (224), Conakry (223) and Khartoum (222).

Safety plays a big role in the decision process multinationals undergo when they consider sending expat workers abroad. These rankings can assist multinationals to fairly compensate, and provide for, employees that are placed on international assignments.

In a press release, Ilya Bonic, senior partner and president of Mercer’s talent business, expanded on the topic:

“Heightened domestic and global security threats, population displacement resulting from violence, and social unrest in key business centres around the world are all elements adding to the complex challenge facing multinational companies when analysing the safety and health of their expatriate workforces. Multinational companies need accurate data and objective methods to determine the cost implications of deteriorating living standards and personal safety issues when compensating expatriates.”