Middle East

Dubai (77) in the United Arab Emirates is the region's city with the best quality of living. Dubai's transport facilities have witnessed improvements, with the development of its road infrastructure and expansion of its international airport, and the city is up six places in the ranking.
 
Baghdad (215) retains its position at the bottom of the table, though its index score has increased (from 13.5 to 14.4 in 2009) due to some slight improvements in its infrastructure and steps taken to encourage investment. Nevertheless, the lack of security and stability continue to have a large impact on quality of living and the city's score remains far behind Bangui (29.3) in the Central African Republic, which is second to last.
 
The overall security continues to be a concern in other Middle Eastern countries, such as in Israel, the Palestinian Territory and Lebanon.
 
Countries such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain continue to witness improvement in living standards in areas such as education, the economic environment and housing.

Africa

Cape Town in South Africa, previously the city in the region with the best quality of living, has dropped substantially in this year's ratings (from 80 to 87 in 2009). This move follows violent riots in South Africa's main cities in 2008.
 
Political and economic unrest are still important factors contributing to insecurity for the majority of African countries. 2008/2009 continues to witness political turbulence in the African continent.

Violent conflict broken out in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008, with heavy clashes in the east of the country between army troops and rebels. The turbulent political and social environment, as well as low medical and sanitation conditions for expatriate, results in relatively low living standards.
 
Of all the African countries, Mauritania experienced the greatest drop in internal stability after the military overthrew the president.

Countries which have achieved positive changes in quality of living include the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Togo, mainly due to improvements in consumer goods, stability, personal freedom and media facilities.