The cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been found to be among the least stressful cities in the world. Singapore has also scored well in the list.
UK based Zipjet firm recently conducted a study to find out the least stressful cities in the world. Abu Dhabi got a high ranking placed at 19th position while Dubai came at 32nd position in the list. Singapore also got a better ranking, placed at 42nd position. However, the list has been topped by German cities including Stuttgart, Hanover, Munich and Hamburg which have come first, third, fifth and ninth consecutively. New Delhi is in the ninth place in the list of world’s most stressful cities.
The study analysed about 500 locations worldwide and took several factors under consideration: pollution, traffic levels, public transport, percentage of green spaces, financial status of citizens including debt levels, physical and mental health and the hours of sunlight the city gets per year.
Talking about the study, Zipjet said, “Individuals feel stressed for different reasons, requiring our study to look at data from a macro level to determine the comprehensive well-being of a city’s population. We examined the overall mental health of a city, and then considered all of the major stress-inducing factors, including unemployment, debt per capita, traffic, public transport, security, pollution and density. We also considered elements such as lack of sunshine hours, which has been linked to poor mental health."
Florian Farber, Managing Director of Zipjet, said, “Mental health problems are on the rise worldwide, with stress being a trigger and contributing factor towards this increase. We hope that by pinpointing how the least stressful cities are managing this issue, those cities struggling with a stressed out population can overcome it.”
He added, “We’re happy to be a part of the wave of digitalization working to reduce stress all around the world.”
World's least stressful cities
1. Stuttgart, Germany
2. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
3. Hanover, Germany
4. Bern, Switzerland
5. Munich, Germany
6. Bordeaux, France
7. Edinburgh, UK
8. Sydney, Australia
9. (tie) Graz, Austria and Hamburg, Germany
World's most stressful cities
1. Baghdad, Iraq
2. Kabul, Afghanistan
3. Lagos, Nigeria
4. Dakar, Senegal
5. Cairo, Egypt
6. Tehran, Iran
7. Dhaka, Bangladesh
8. Karachi, Pakistan
9. New Delhi, India
