Nairobi has for the fifth year in a row been ranked in the bottom 20 of global cities that are pleasant to live in, hit by insecurity, poor infrastructure and a rickety health system.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) poll, which was released Tuesday, ranks Kenya’s capital at position 120 in the list of 140 cities.
Nairobi has, however, improved two places from 122 last year after stagnating at 124 in 2013 and 2012. The city was ranked at position 125 in 2011.
“The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in any given location, and allows for direct comparison between locations,” the report says.
Nairobi’s ranking was mainly hurt by the poor state of security, corruption as well as wobbly public schools and hospitals.
Kenya has struggled with a number of challenges in the past year, including attacks blamed on Somalia’s al Shabaab militants that have scared away tourists, eroding foreign exchange earnings in the key sector.
Poor roads, traffic jams, unstable electricity supply has consigned Nairobi to the tail end of the ranking, which placed the Kenya capital at position five on the continent behind Johannesburg, Pretoria, Tunis and Casablanca.
The rankings offer a sneak preview of a country’s level of development and are used as a tool when setting shop in new countries and paying expatriates.
