New Zealand cities are dominating worldwide quality of living standards making them attractive destinations for migrants, Mercer’s 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey has found.
Auckland is one of the best cities in the world and the highest ranked city in Asia. Auckland shared joint fifth place with Dusseldorf in Germany and the New Zealand capital, Wellington, was not far behind at 12th place.
All of the New Zealand cities covered in the survey secured a ranking amongst the world’s top 30 for overall quality of living.
The analysis of 215 cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting is based on an evaluation of 39 quality of living criteria. This includes political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.
The top cities in 2007 were Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland, Vancouver in Canada and Vienna in Austria. It is the second consecutive year that Auckland has been ranked fifth in the index.
Auckland is known as the City of Sails with a 1600 km long coastline. It is home to 1.37 million people and is the fastest growing region in the country. About 70 per cent of new migrants to New Zealand settle in the Auckland region with one-third of all people who call Auckland home born overseas.
Two thirds of the country’s top 200 companies and one third of the nation’s workforce are based in Auckland. Nearly a quarter of the world’s Fortune 500 companies have a presence in the region.
Auckland was also ranked the top city for quality of life in Asia, followed by Sydney, Wellington, Melbourne and Perth.
Wellington is home to 460,000 residents, about 11 per cent of the total national population, and more than half were born outside New Zealand. It is the capital city where Parliament resides and employment growth is driven by the government sector, property and business services, construction and retail trade.
Wellington is built around a sparkling clean harbour and surrounded by hills. It is a city where culture and art is cherished and you can find the national museum, Te Papa, and the ‘Lord of the Rings’ award winning Weta Studios.
Wellington and Auckland also ranked in joint 18th place for health and sanitation.
Scores are based on the quality and availability of hospital and medical supplies and levels of air pollution and infectious diseases. The efficiency of waste removal and sewage systems, water portability and the presence of harmful animals and insects are also taken into account.
The rankings are based on data collected by Mercer between September and November 2006 and the data is regularly updated to take account of changing circumstances.
Find out more about New Zealand cities
Every three years New Zealand’s 12 largest city councils are rated for their quality of life. The 2007 report by the Metropolitan Sector Group showed the majority of residents in the cities (90 per cent) felt they had a positive overall quality of life.
They enjoyed clean air and water and had ready access to employment, housing and services such as health and education.
The economy was strong, median personal and household incomes had increased, there had been an increase in jobs and a drop in unemployment. The 12 cities accounted for nearly two-thirds of all economic activity in New Zealand.
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