When it comes to stress, one study suggests some cities are better than others. Photo / Auckland Unlimited
When it comes to stress, one study suggests some cities are better than others. Photo / Auckland Unlimited
Residents in New Zealand's capital city have been found to be among the most relaxed in the world, but not all Kiwi cities are as stress free.
Stress may be an unavoidable part of life but according to one recent study, how big that part is could depend on where you live.
The Least and Most Stressful Cities Index 2021, released this month, found Reykjavik, Iceland to be the least stressful city out of the 100 studied, followed by Bern in Switzerland, and Helsinki in Finland.
Fourth on the list was Wellington, with the same score as Helsinki (which came third); 95.0 out of 100.
Scores between the cities were tied for Covid response, social security, mental health, socio-political stability and minority equality while Wellington pulled ahead in categories such as gender equality, financial stress and traffic congestion.
Unsurprisingly, the one category Auckland bested Wellington in was the weather.
The study's researchers first analysed 500 global cities according to 15 stress indicators. This was narrowed down to the 100 cities with the most reliable data and ranked according to score.
Therefore, the list is less a definitive index of the world's most and least stressful cities, but a ranking of the most accurately comparable.
Wellington is one of the most relaxing cities in the world, according to this new report. Photo / James Mingram, Unsplash
The 15 stress indicators sat within four key categories: governance, city, finance and health. These included several structural and environmental factors sometimes overlooked when studying stress such as weather, gender equality, health access, unemployment rate and pollution levels.
Multiple data sources were used to gather information including the World Health Organisation, European Commission, University of Oxford, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the International Labour Organisation.
Covid Response was also rated according to measures such as a city's case rates, deaths per capita and the degree of social liberty since January 2020. Of the 100 cities, Tokyo ranked highest in this category.
The overall top 10 also included Melbourne, Australia; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Innsbruck, Austria; Hanover, Germany; and Graz, Austria.
On the bottom of the scale, Mumbai in India was the most stressful city with a score of 1.00, followed by Lagos in Nigeria and Manila in the Philippines.
According to a statement by Vaay, a CBD and hemp brand who commissioned the study, the hope was to show which cities lead the way for wellbeing.
"Our objective with this study is to show what cities can achieve for their citizens through effective governance, robust environmental policies, and well-resourced social welfare systems," said the company's co-founder Finn Age Hänsel.
THE LEAST STRESSFUL CITIES INDEX 2021 1. Reykjavik, Iceland 2. Bern, Switzerland 3. Helsinki, Finland 4. Wellington, New Zealand 5. Melbourne, Australia 6. Oslo, Norway 7. Copenhagen, Denmark 8. Innsbruck, Austria 9. Hanover, Germany 10. Graz, Austria.
THE MOST STRESSFUL CITIES INDEX 2021 1. Mumbai, India 2. Lagos, Nigeria 3. Manila, Philippines 4. New Delhi, India 5. Baghdad, Iraq 6. Kabul, Afghanistan 7. Moscow, Russia 8. Karachi, Pakistan 9. Jakarta, Indonesia 10. Kiev, Ukraine
