national

Merecer ranks quality of living

Panama ranks high in Latin America but low among the 215 cities surveyed worldwide.

Panama is the third safest city in Latin America, behind San Juan de Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, according to Mercer's 2008 Quality of Living survey.

However neither Panama nor any other Latin American city ranks within even the top 50 safest cities worldwide.

European cities dominate the safety rankings, with Luxembourg in first place, followed by Bern, Switzerland; Geneva, Switzerland; Helsinki, Finland; and Zurich, Switzerland. Those cities are all tied for second place in the rankings.

Mercer's reports are based on annual responses to a questionnaire developed by international Mercer professionals, who work closely with major multinational companies and other experts in the field.

In terms of the quality of living, Panama ranks 96th among the 215 cities surveyed worldwide, ahead of San José de Costa Rica, which holds 125th place, and Managua, which occupies 146th place.

Panama ranks 5th for quality of living among all Latin American cities, behind San Juan, Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile, but first among the cities of Central America.

The cities with the highest quality of living rankings are Zurich, Geneva, Vienna, Vancouver and Auckland.

The city with the worst quality of living in Latin America is Puerto Príncipe, Haití; and in the world, Baghdad.

Mercer's quality of living factors include political, social and economic environment, medical and health considerations, schools and education, socio-cultural environment, public services and transport, housing, recreation and consumer goods.