Publications
Partners
Harare - A top research group on Thursday rated Zimbabwe's
capital as the worst of 140 world cities in which to live.
The British-based Economist Intelligence Unit said its
researchers excluded cities in Libya, Iraq and other war zones.
Harare, where power and water outages occur daily, scored a
38% "livability rating", the group said.
The group said the threat of civil unrest and the
availability of public healthcare and public transport in Harare were
intolerable. Energy and water supplies were undesirable, it said, calling
phones and internet services uncomfortable.
Zimbabwe formed a shaky coalition government in 2009 after
years of political violence and economic meltdown.
Melbourne and Vienna were
rated the two easiest cities to live in.
The research group is a respected economic and risk
consultancy linked to the Economist magazine.
The annual global cities survey advises companies on the
level of hardship employees face and recommends pay adjustments for those who
move to cities where living conditions are particularly difficult, with
"excessive physical hardship or a notably unhealthy environment".
A livability rating - compiled onsite in the cities by
experts and statisticians - given as 80% to 100% means there are few challenges
to daily living standards such as housing, health, education and
transportation. Fifty percent or less means most aspects of living are
"severely restricted", the group said.
Harare's rating highlighted continuing "bleak
prospects" for the capital's population of nearly two million, the survey
said. It said quality housing was available for only the wealthy, and that
quality private education was available in the city, but it is costly and takes
good teachers away from Harare's impoverished government schools.
Cities across sub-Saharan Africa had an average livability
rating of 50%, compared to 92% in Western Europe and 91% in North America.
