Manama is among the lowest risk cities in the region, with a rating that puts it ahead of international business hubs such as Milan, Lisbon, Istanbul and Moscow.

That is the conclusion of findings from the 2012 People Risk Index, created by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources business of Aon.

The Aon Hewitt 2012 People Risk Index measures the risks that organisations face with recruitment, employment and relocation in 131 cities worldwide by analysing 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five areas, including demographics, education, government support, talent development and employment practices.

Manama ranks 49th among the 131 cities covered in the index and is the fourth highest ranked city in the Middle East, behind Dubai, Doha and Muscat. Manama also finished higher on the People Risk Index than leading Asian business hubs such as Shanghai, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Colombo, Bangkok and Mumbai, and European capitals such as Rome, Krakow, Budapest and Belgrade.

When it came to Middle Eastern cities, Manama was followed by Riyadh, Tunis, Cairo, Amman, Tehran, Algiers and Rabat on the list, while Sana'a and Damascus were ranked the lowest of all cities involved in the survey.

Based on Aon Hewitt analysis, Mena cities can be divided into two groups. The first group consists of cities with relatively low risk ratings and includes the GCC cities of Dubai, Doha, Muscat, Manama and Riyadh.

The second group of cities, with relatively high risk ratings includes Tunis, Cairo, Amman, Tehran, Algiers, Rabat Tripoli, Baghdad, Sana'a and Damascus.

The key risk factors that differentiate the low risk Mena cities from the high risk group include the higher workforce productivity due to a more stable economic environment, future availability of workforce due to younger population composure and population inflow.

This thus increases the workforce pool that companies can access. In contrast, there is a higher rate of emigration in the high-risk group reducing the pool of available workforce in those cities.