Standards of living continue to improve in parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Singapore has become increasingly attractive for expatriates with its stable political environment, public service provisions and recreational facilities. New Zealand and Australia also offer high standards of living. The series of earthquakes and continuing aftershocks that destroyed much of the business district in the city of Christchurch have not adversely affected the rest of New Zealand, with Auckland and Wellington among the world’s safest cities.

The earthquake that hit northeastern Japan in March 2011 and the ensuing tsunami and aftershocks did have a more lasting effect on the quality of living in the country, although fears as to the extent of the nuclear disaster at the affected Fukushima reactors eased as the year progressed. Even without the natural disaster, Japan has been suffering from political instability, with six prime ministers in the past five years, largely due to the state of the nation’s economy.
 
Still, Japanese cities remain among the most livable in Asia. The political situation in some Central and South Asian states has created a climate that does not foster a high quality of urban life, especially for expatriates. Government oppression, political instability or both endanger personal safety and hinder daily life in cities like Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Dushanbe (Turkmenistan) and throughout Pakistan.

Listen to Mercer’s Georgina Harley discuss the 2011 Quality of Living results for Australia and New Zealand 

Listen to Mercer’s experts discuss the 2011 Quality of Living survey results for Asia:

Phil Stanley (English)
Koichi Tanaka
Grace Cha (Korean)
Crystal Huang (Mandarin Chinese)