The research by German-based Company Vaay ranked Nairobi at position 80 out of 100 based on structural and environmental factors which it said contribute to a person’s overall level of stress.

Other factors that were assessed included safety and security, gender and minority equality, social-political stability, population density, pollution levels, financial stress and traffic congestion.

Overall, the Kenyan capital had an average score of 56.1 out of 100. It scored high in having lower levels of air and light pollution and conducive weather conditions.

Nairobi, however, ranked poorly in access to healthcare, noise pollution, political stability, safety and security.

Its high population density, traffic snarl-ups and low rate of minority equality also contributed to it being among the bottom 20 out of the 100 cities that were surveyed.

Iceland’s capital Reykjavik topped the list of least stressful cities in the world with a score of 100.

It was followed closely by Bern in Switzerland (96.6), Helsinki in Finland (95.0), Wellington, Newzealand (95.0) and Melbourne, Australia (94.2).

In Africa, South Africa’s Johannesburg city emerged number one as the least stressful. It was placed at position 49 in the world.

Cape Town also in South Africa took position two while Algiers (Algeria) and Casablanca in Morocco ranked third and fourth respectively.

Nairobi ranked most innovative city in Africa

In April, a report by independent real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank, Nairobi ranked as the top innovative city in Africa and among the top 100 globally.

The Africa horizons report for the year 2021/22 noted Nairobi emerged first ahead of Cape Town.

Ugandan capital Kampala was third while Cairo (Egypt) and Johannesburg (South Africa) were placed fourth and fifth, respectively.