Durban - The 20th Mercer Quality of Living report released this week ranked Durban as the most liveable City in South Africa.
The survey by Mercer is one of the world’s most comprehensive and is conducted annually to enable multinational companies and other organisations to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.
It evaluated the cities according to 39 factors across 10 categories, including the political and social environment, the economic environment, public services and transport, housing, education, recreation and the natural environment.
The data was largely analysed between September and November 2017, and it will be updated regularly to account for changing circumstances.
This year, Mercer also provided a separate ranking on city sanitation, which analyses cities’ waste removal and sewage infrastructure, levels of infectious disease, air pollution, water availability and quality - all important aspects of a city’s attractiveness for both talent and businesses.
Mercer’s survey also includes a city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city’s supply of electricity, drinking water, telephone and mail services, and public transportation as well as traffic congestion and the range of international flights available from local airports.
eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede said the results showed that the municipality was on the right path.
“Our municipality has achieved this accolade for the 4th consecutive year. We are proud to be acknowledged for our service delivery programmes and we strive to continue to make a positive impact in the lives of our residents,” she said.
Durban was placed 89th, six places above Port Louis who placed 83rd and ahead of Cape Town and Johannesburg who ranked 94th and 95th respectively.
The top five cities in the ranking were Vienna, Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Canada.