A new survey by Bayt.com, the number one career site in the Middle East, and YouGov, a pioneer in online market research, entitled ‘Top Cities in the Middle East and North Africa Survey2015’ has revealed that54% of people living in Alexandria and41% in Cairo are either very happy or somewhat happy living in their current city of residence.
Economic Factors
13% of people in Alexandria and Cairo believe that the availability of jobs is either good or excellent, while25% and22% respectively believe it is average. Similarly,24% of respondents in Alexandria and21% in Cairo believe that competitive salaries are average.
Other important economic factors in Alexandria and Cairo include benefits for working parents, personal career growth and reasonably priced amenities.
Labor Rights
Respondents from Egypt believe that they receive an average amount in end of service benefits, according to31% in Alexandria and21% in Cairo. Alexandria and Cairo also believe that they receive an average in terms of termination rights (21% and17%), vacation allowances (37% and29%), parenthood allowances (32% and23%), wage protection system (31% and18%), health insurance and social security systems (27% and18%), and pro-active policy making (29% and23%).
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors form a set of important aspects related to comfort and cleanliness that affect the overall quality of life in a city.15% of respondents in Alexandria say that the cleanliness of their city streets is either good or excellent. Other important environmental factors in Alexandria and Cairo respectively include clean water (good-to-excellent:21% and20%) and beauty of the architecture and buildings (good-to-excellent:27% and21%).
Standard of Living
According to around2 in5 respondents on average in Alexandria and Cairo rate their cities as either good or excellent on the key factors affecting their standard of living, respectively. These factors include the feeling of stability and security (good-to-excellent:34% and28%), the availability of healthcare facilities (good-to-excellent:20% and18%), water/electricity/sewage systems (good-to-excellent:22% and21%) and the quality of education (good-to-excellent:27% and18%).
Socio-cultural Factors
The socio-cultural factors are forces within cultures, societies and cities that affect the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of individuals who are a part of them. Important socio-cultural factors include low crime rates, rated as good or excellent by22% of Alexandria and15% of Cairo respondents; a stable political environment, rated as good or excellent by23% of Alexandria and18% of Cairo respondents; and effective law enforcement rated as good or excellent by22% of Alexandria and18% of Cairo respondents.
Other important socio-cultural factors in Egypt include fair treatment to all nationalities and tolerance to different cultures and ideas.
Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation
Respondents in Alexandria ranked culture and arts offerings (38%), the availability of world heritage sites/preserved old towns (44%) and the availability of outdoor/sports activities (31%) as good or excellent. Similarly,41% of Cairo respondents found the availability of world heritage sites/preserved old towns as good or excellent; while natural areas/landscapes are rated as good or excellent by31% of respondents, as well as the availability of outdoor/sports activities (27%).
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship has an impact on a city’s prosperity, and Egypt is seeing a nascent propensity amongst respondents for starting a business.
Alexandria and Cairo respectively ranked either good or excellent among respondents on the following factors: the ease of starting a new business (15% and18%); however, bureaucracy in procedures and paperwork is prevalent (12% and10%). Market willingness to accept new ideas and innovations is good-to-excellent according to29% of Alexandria and26% of Cairo respondents. Respondents from Alexandria and Cairo respectively rated market saturation (18% and19%), the ability to find local talent to employ (32% and28%), and affordability of taxes and fees (14% and10%) as good-to-excellent.
Suhail Masri, Vice President of Sales, Bayt.com, said: “As the leading career site in the region, it is our responsibility to showcase the best-performing cities in the region, so that job seekers can make an informed assessment if they are looking to move and employers can do more to contribute to their city’s standard of living and wellbeing.”
Masri continued: “The MENA region is very diverse when it comes to the factors that affect the overall quality of living in each city. At Bayt.com, our mission has always been to empower people with the tools and technologies to build their lifestyle of choice, and we want to empower people with valuable insights into life in cities that they might choose to live in.“
Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov, said: “It is through this kind of market research that we are able to provide a profile of cities across the Middle East and North Africa today so that both employers and job seekers gain valuable insights into the various factors that affect the standard of living in their city of choice.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Cities in the Middle East and North Africa Survey2015’ was collected online from August25th to September6th2015, with the participation of3,613 respondents. The survey polled people from varying nationalities including GCC Arabs, North Africans, Levantines, and Western and Asian expats living in major cities in the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Pakistan.