Bucharest is ranked 107^th in the world in Mercer’s 2018 Quality of Living survey, one of the lowest spots among EU cities. The Romanian capital occupied the same position in last year’s edition of the survey, which looked at 231 cities worldwide.

In South East Europe, Bucharest came ahead of Sofia (ranked 116^th in the world), Moscow (167^th), Kiev (173^rd), and Minsk (188^th). Neighboring Budapest came out on the 76^th spot, followed by Bratislava on the 80^th, and Warsaw on 82^nd. Prague was ranked 69^th, while Ljubljana took the 75^th spot worldwide.

Vienna took the first spot in the ranking for the ninth year in a row. Austria’s capital remains the highest ranking city in Europe and globally, “providing residents and expatriates with high security, well-structured public transportation and a variety of cultural and recreation facilities.”

Vienna is followed by Zurich (2^nd), and Auckland and Munich in a joint 3^rd place. Munich jumped to the 3^rd position because of “a concerted effort to attract talent and businesses by continuously investing in high-tech infrastructure and promoting its cultural facilities.”

Elsewhere in Europe, Stockholm dropped three places to the 23^rd spot because of the terrorist attack there. Oslo (25^th) and Lisbon (38^th) increased their rankings by six and five places respectively. London remained further down the list, on the 41^st spot, because of its “persistent issues with traffic congestion and air pollution.”

Vancouver placed 5^th worldwide, the highest ranking city in North America. Singapore (25^th) and Montevideo (77^th) were the highest ranking cities in Asia and Latin America respectively.

Overall, Mercer evaluates local living conditions in more than 450 cities worldwide. The factors taken into account for the analysis include: political stability, crime, law enforcement; medical and health considerations; standards and availability of international schools; public services and transportation; recreation, consumer goods and housing; but also the climate and record of natural disasters.

What cities offer the best and worst life conditions in Romania?

editor@romania-insider.com