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Switzerland Ranks 2nd in EIU 2005 Quality
of Life Index
Washington, January 4 - A new quality of life
index developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit places Switzerland 2nd among
111 countries, reports Mario Brossi of the Swiss Inward Investment Agency
Location:Switzerland, based here. On a score of 1 to 10 Switzerland came
in with 8.068 points against Ireland's 8.333, Mr. Brossi said. The U.S.
ranks 13th
and the U.K. 29th.
"The new index is based on nine quality
of life factors," Mr. Brossi said. "These are material
well-being, health, political stability and security, family life, community
life, climate and geography, job security, political freedom, and gender
equality."
An earlier Mercer Human Resources' 2004
Overall Quality of Life Survey among 215 cities ranks Zurich and Geneva in 1st
place, while Berne ranks 5th thereby making Switzerland the only
country in the survey with three leading cities in the top 10.
"There is no question that lifestyle and
quality of life are increasingly a part of an inward investment decision for
companies seeking an operational base in Europe," Mr. Brossi said.
"Switzerland's consistent high performance in these 'soft' factors are
among the reasons why the U.S. is the single largest foreign investor in
Switzerland, with upwards of 650 American companies now based there. Indeed, about
8.5% of American investment in Europe goes to Switzerland - amounting to $86
billion as per the latest figures from the Swiss Ð American Chamber of
Commerce. Furthermore," he continued, "The quality of life
factors which not only make Switzerland a nice place to visit but also to work
are also increasingly mentioned by the estimated 149,000 employees of the many
overseas companies with a presence in Switzerland."
The EIU study is posted at http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
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