The United Arab Emirate's most prominent cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, offer the highest quality of living in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a 2016 global ranking released by Mercer Tuesday.
Dubai ranks No. 1 regionally, followed by Abu Dhabi. Globally, Dubai comes in at 75 and Abu Dhabi at 81 on the ranking, which includes 230 cities out of 440 that were analyzed by the annual study. However, while Dubai and Abu Dhabi maintain their first and second place ranking regionally, both cities actually moved downward compared to the 2015 report. Last year, Dubai came in one place higher at 74 and Abu Dhabi was ranked at 77.
This year's study also highlights personal safety as a key factor in determining quality of life around the globe. When looking particularly at this concern, Abu Dhabi takes the No. 1 spot regionally and No. 23 globally for safety. Following Abu Dhabi for safety is Muscat, ranking No. 29 internationally. Dubai came in third in the region and No. 40 overall.
And what are the top cities in the world according to Mercer? The top five for quality of living are Vienna, Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver, respectively.
Here are the top 10 cities for quality of living in the Middle East and North Africa:
- Dubai (75 globally)
- Abu Dhabi (81)
- Muscat (107)
- Doha (110)
- Tunis (113)
- Rabat (116)
- Amman (120)
- Istanbul (122)
- Kuwait City (124)
- Casablanca (126)
