Quality of life in Africa: South Africa dominates list!
See which cities in Africa offer the best quality of life on the continent, with South African cities still coming out tops.
While South Africa earns a lot of criticism for its shortcomings, several of the country’s cities still offer high standards of living. A number of South African cities rank high on the list of places offering the best quality of life on the African continent.
SOUTH AFRICA RATED TOPS FOR QUALITY OF LIFE
According to a study carried out by Numbeo, South Africa’s biggest cities are rated tops for quality of life in Africa.
South Africans often tend to think their living conditions in SA are deteriorating with the ongoing power cuts. The collapsing water and road infrastructure in the country are also reason for concern and frustration.
That said, South Africa is streets ahead of many other cities on the continent.
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URBANISATION TREND
African cities are experiencing rapid urbanization, with millions of people moving from rural areas to urban centres – in search of opportunities and better living conditions.
As cities expand, quality of life for residents is increasingly important.
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SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES
That said, let’s take a look at the African cities and where they rank on the list. Four of South Africa’s cities sit at the top of the list, with Cape Town in poll position.
| Rank | City | Country | Quality of Life Index |
| 1 | Cape Town | SA | 148.3 |
| 2 | Pretoria | SA | 138.0 |
| 3 | Durban | SA | 136.9 |
| 4 | Johannesburg | SA | 130.6 |
| 5 | Nairobi | Kenya | 96.5 |
| 6 | Cairo | Egypt | 77.1 |
| 7 | Lagos | Nigeria | 49.9 |
Africa’s cities with best quality of life. Source Numbeo
MEASUREMENT TOOL
An important tool for obtaining this data is the use of a credible Quality of Life (QoL) index. It is important to tailor this to the unique challenges and characteristics of African urban environments.
Quality of Life encapsulates several factors that contribute to the overall well-being and satisfaction of individuals in a place.
These factors include attributes such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, safety, employment opportunities, environmental quality, and social cohesion.
QUALITY OF LIFE
The QoL Index is created from information gathered by Numbeo. It gathers data through user surveys.
The questionnaires gather participants’ opinions and experiences about a range of QoL-related aspects.
NUMBEO
According to Business Insider, Numbeo is a reliable data and research platform. It measures the QoL of any given region with an aggregate score for a variety of factors.
The following factors are considered: purchasing power index, safety index, health care index, cost of living index, property price to income ratio, traffic commute time, pollution index, and climate index.
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