By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria regarded as Africa’s largest economy is conspicuously missing as five Africa cities managed to remain in the top 100 rankings in regards to quality of living, according to the latest report from Mercer global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments.
The report says Port Louis in Mauritius topped the Africa chart at an overall 84th position. Durban (87) ranked the highest for quality of living within South Africa, closely followed by Cape Town (94) and Johannesburg (96). On the other side of the scope, Brazzaville (224) in the Republic of the Congo, N’Djamena (226) in Chad, Khartoum (227) in Sudan and Bangui (230) in the Central African Republic formed the four lowest-ranked cities for quality of living within Africa.
Port Louis is the only Africa city which managed to fall within the top 100 rankings with the highest for infrastructure in 94th place. Cape Town missed it with one (1) position ranking at 101st position followed by Tunis (104) in Tunisia and Victoria (109) in Seychelles concluding the top four (4) Africa cities.
“Lack of infrastructure remains a challenge within Africa, with N’Djamena (224), Bangui (226), Conakry (227) in Guinea Republic and Brazzaville (228) in the Republic of the Congo forming the lowest rankings,” Mercer said.
According to the report, despite increased political and financial volatility in South Africa, its cities fell within the top 100 of the world’s highest quality of living and remain attractive destinations for expanding business operations and sending expatriates on assignment.
Durban (87) ranked the highest for quality of living within South Africa, closely followed by Cape Town (94) and Johannesburg (96).
“Economic instability, social unrest, and growing political upheaval all add to the complex challenge multinational companies face when analysing quality of living for their expatriate workforce,” said Ilya Bonic, seniour partner and president of Mercer’s Career business. “For multinationals and governments it is vital to have quality of living information that is accurate, detailed, and reliable. It not only enables these employers to compensate employees appropriately, but it also provides a planning benchmark and insights into the often-sensitive operational environment that surrounds their workforce.
“In uncertain times, organisations that plan to establish themselves and send staff to a new location should ensure they get a complete picture of the city, including its viability as a business location and its attractiveness to key talent,” Mr Bonic added.
The Nigerian city of Lagos and Abuja ranked 212 and 213 respectively far behind Port Louis in Mauritius topped the Africa chart at an overall 84th position, Durban (87) ranked the highest for quality of living within South Africa, closely followed by Cape Town (94) and Johannesburg (96).
Nigeria was declared officially in a recession in the second quarter of 2016 (Q2’2016) and in the last week of November 2016, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report for the third quarter ended September. According to the report, real output growth during the three months period slumped by 2.24 percent year-on-year (y/y) (the biggest since -7.59 percent recorded in Q1-2004), representing 18bps and 508bps declines from growth rates of -2.06 percent and 2.84 percent recorded in the previous quarter and Q3-2015 respectively.
The NBS in its latest report on Tuesday said Nigeria’s inflation rate slowed to 17.78 percent year-on-year in February, 1.94 percent points lower from the rate recorded in January (18.72) percent.
“This represents the first time in 15 months that the headline CPI has declined on year on year basis representing the effects of slower rises in already high food and non food prices and favourable base effects over 2016 prices,” NBS said in its report.
