MUSCAT: Muscat, the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman, has once again affirmed its status as one of the world’s premier cities, as evidenced by the latest rankings from the prominent crowd-sourced global database, Numbeo.
In the Quality of Life Index for the 2023 mid-year, Numbeo has positioned Muscat as the best city in Asia and 17th globally out of 195 cities assessed. The Quality of Life Index is meticulously crafted, incorporating factors such as cost of living, purchasing power, housing affordability, pollution (including air and water), crime rates, health system quality, and commute times, among other statistics.
Muscat achieved an impressive score of 176.80 on the Quality of Life Index, with The Hague, Netherlands, claiming the top spot worldwide with a score of 215.7.
Abu Dhabi, UAE (173), secured the 25th position globally, standing as the second-best city in Asia, followed closely by Dubai at 26th overall (172.7), Tokyo (166.5, 35th overall), and Doha (158.5, 72nd overall).
The rankings placed Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Luxembourg as second and third overall, with scores of 202.5 and 200.5 points, respectively. Vienna, Austria, claimed the fourth spot (197.7), and Valencia, Spain, rounded off the top-five with a score of 196.3.
Oman demonstrated strength in various indices, notably scoring 82.5 in purchasing power, 79.9 in the Safety Index, and 60.2 in the Health Care Index. The Cost of Living Index was rated at 50.4 points, while the Traffic Commute Time index stood at 20.5. The Pollution Index was measured at 35.0, and the Climate Index was rated at 67.2.
This comprehensive index is structured to offer a comparative measure, where a higher index value indicates a superior quality of life. Numbeo’s survey captures the perceptions and experiences of website visitors, encompassing various aspects of quality of life.
The Quality of Life Index, reflecting an estimation of overall quality of life, utilises an empirical formula considering factors such as Purchasing Power Index (higher is better), Safety Index (higher is better), Climate Index (higher is better), Pollution Index (lower is better), House Price to Income Ratio (lower is better), Cost of Living Index (lower is better), Health Care Index (higher is better), and Traffic Commute Time Index (lower is better).
