The Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranks 221 cities from Vienna to Baghdad on quality of life.[1]
In 2010, Vienna won the title as the highest ranked city, followed by Zurich (2), Geneva (3), jointly Vancouver (4) and Auckland (4), and Düsseldorf (5). The quality of living survey is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments. The survey also identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based upon internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement and relationships with other countries. In this case, Luxembourg is top, followed by Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich, all equally placed at number 2.
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The cities — 221 in total — were evaluated on 39 factors including political, economic, environmental, personal safety, health, education, transportation and other public service factors. Cities were compared to New York City which was given a base score of 100.
North America
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Vancouver | 107.4 |
2 | 14 | Ottawa | 105.5 |
3 | 16 | Toronto | 105.3 |
4 | 21 | Montreal | 104.2 |
5 | 28 | Calgary | 103.5 |
Asia
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 | Singapore | 103.5 |
2 | 40 | Tokyo | 101.4 |
3 | 41 | Yokohama | 100.8 |
4 | 41 | Kobe | 100.8 |
5 | 51 | Osaka | 100.5 |
Northern Europe
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Vienna | 108.6 |
2 | 2 | Zurich | 108.0 |
3 | 3 | Geneva | 107.9 |
4 | 6 | Düsseldorf | 107.2 |
5 | 7 | Frankfurt | 107.0 |
5 | 7 | Munich | 107.0 |
Southern Europe
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 34 | Paris | 102.9 |
2 | 38 | Lyon | 101.9 |
3 | 41 | Milan | 100.8 |
4 | 44 | Lisbon | 100.6 |
5 | 7 | Barcelona | 100.3 |
Oceania
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Auckland | 107.4 |
2 | 10 | Sydney | 106.3 |
3 | 12 | Wellington | 105.9 |
4 | 18 | Melbourne | 104.8 |
5 | 21 | Perth | 104.2 |
Middle East & North Africa
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 75 | Dubai | 87.0 |
2 | 83 | Abu Dhabi | 84.1 |
3 | 100 | Muscat | 81.7 |
Sub-Saharan Africa
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 82 | Port Louis | 87.7 |
2 | 86 | Cape Town | 85.7 |
3 | 90 | Johannesburg | 83.3 |
South America
Rank | Overall Ranking | City | Quality of living |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 78 | Buenos Aires | 88.8 |
2 | 79 | Montevideo | 88.6 |
3 | 83 | Santiago | 84.4 |