Manila is 3rd among 56 cities with lowest quality of life – report

A man carries a girl along a canal polluted with plastic and garbage at the Estero de San Lazaro in Manila on March 22, 2019. – Each year on March 22, World Water Day is observed around the world, focusing on the importance of freshwater and advocating for sustainable management of water resources. (Photo by Noel CELIS / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Manila ranked poorly at third place among 56 cities worldwide with the lowest quality of life, research published by Deutsche Bank has shown.

Based on its May 2019 report, Deutsche Bank said the top three cities with the lowest quality of life were Lagos, Nigeria; Beijing, China; and Manila, Philippines. 

One the other hand, the cities with the highest quality of life, according to the research, were Zurich, Switzerland; Wellington, New Zealand; and Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Manila also lagged in other indices from Deutsche Bank’s report, ranking 53rd in terms of purchasing power, 46th in safety index, 45th in both health care index and property price to income ratio, 51st in traffic commute time, 54th in pollution index, and 47th in climate index.

In terms of cost-of-living index, the country’s capital ranked 10th out of 56 countries but lagged in terms of monthly salary (net of taxes) ranking 50th out of 55 cities. 

The Deutsche Bank report stated that the net monthly salary in Manila dropped to $480 in 2019 from $498 in 2018. 

Other cities with the lowest net monthly salaries indicated in the report were Istanbul, Turkey with $433; Bangladesh, Dhaka with $375; Jakarta, Indonesia with $362; Lagos, Nigeria with $236; and Cairo, Egypt with $206. 

San Francisco in the United States, meanwhile, was ranked as the city with the highest monthly salary at $6,526 followed by Zurich in Switzerland at $5,896.

Deutsche Bank clarified the research “makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness” though it assured the information and its public sources are “believed to be reliable.” /kga