Zurich ranks as the world´s top city for quality of living, according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The city scores 108.2 and is only marginally ahead of Geneva, which scores 108.1, while Vancouver follows in third place with a score of 107.7. In contrast, Baghdad is the lowest ranking city in the survey, scoring just 14.5.

The analysis is part of an annual Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, covering more than 350 cities, to help governments and multinational companies place employees on international assignments. Each city is based on an evaluation of 39 criteria, including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transportation, and other public services. Cities are ranked against New York as the base city, which has an index score of 100. 

"International assignments can be challenging for multinational companies in terms of compensating expatriates," said Rebecca Powers, a Principal in Mercer´s San Francisco office. "Assignments to cities with low living standards or political unrest, for example, can be costly. Many companies rely on such benchmark data to help them structure appropriate compensation packages for their employees."

Europe and the Middle East

Almost half of the 30 top-scoring cities are in Western Europe. In this region, Vienna follows Zurich and Geneva in 4th position with a score of 107.5. Other highly rated cities include Düsseldorf (107.2), Frankfurt (107.0), and Munich (106.8) in positions 6, 7, and 8, respectively.  Athens remains the lowest scoring city in Western Europe, scoring 86.8 at position 79.

London, the highest ranking city in the UK, is stable at position 39 (score 101.2).  The two other UK cities covered in the survey are Birmingham and Glasgow, which both score 98.3 and climb one place to joint 55th position. Dublin dropped two places to 24th position, scoring 103.8, mainly due to increased traffic congestion.

Cities in Eastern Europe, such as Budapest, Ljubljana, Prague, Vilnius, Tallinn, and Warsaw, continue to benefit from incremental score increases and are gradually climbing the rankings. 

Positions for most cities in Europe and the Middle East are generally unchanged, with the exception of Cairo, which has tumbled nine places to position 131 and scores 71.2 due to the political turmoil and terrorist attacks in the city and surrounding area. 

Baghdad ranks as the least attractive city for expatriates for a third consecutive year, with a score of 14.5.

Americas

Honolulu, the highest ranking city in the US, dropped two positions to 27th, with a score of 103.3. San Francisco remains at 28th position and scores 103.2. Boston, Washington, Chicago, and Portland, Ore., follow in positions 36, 41, 41, and 43, respectively (scores 101.9, 100.4, 100.4, and 100.3, respectively), while Houston remains the lowest ranking city in the US at position 68 (score 95.4). Overall, US cities continue to slip slightly or remain stable in the rankings, except Chicago, which has moved up 11 places due to decreased crime rates.

"In general, rankings for cities in the US remain stable. Variations in the quality of living are often driven by factors such as an increase in air pollution or crime, natural disasters, or events like terrorism," said Ms. Powers.

In South America, rankings vary significantly due to differences in economic and political stability. "The steady economic recovery of Argentina is likely to improve the rankings of its cities in the future," commented Ms. Powers.

Asia-Pacific

Auckland and Wellington have both moved up in the rankings from 8th to 5th and 14th to 12th places, respectively, mainly due to strong internal stability relative to other cities, while Sydney remains at position 9 with a score of 106.5. 

In Asia, Singapore ranks 34th (score 102.5) followed by Tokyo, Japan´s highest scoring city, at position 35 (score 102.3). Hong Kong´s modern and efficient infrastructure, including its airport, which is considered one of best in the world, has pushed it up from 70th to 68th position with a score of 95.4.

The top-ranking city in China is Shanghai in 103rd place (score 80.1). "In the next few years, cities like Beijing and Shanghai should see improved quality of living because of greater international investment due to the availability and low cost of labor," explained Ms. Powers.

Though cities in India generally rank lower than their Chinese counterparts, they are also showing signs of development. "As a result of India´s improved political relationships with other countries, the quality of living in some Indian cites is slowly increasing," said Ms. Powers. 

Other low-ranking cities for overall quality of living include Congo in Brazzaville (score 30.3), Bangui in the Central African Republic, and Khartoum in Sudan (30.6 and 31.7).

Mercer has released a new report called Managing Quality of Living for Expatriates, which provides information to enable HR professionals and others to understand the importance of assessing worldwide standards of living, including personal safety and security, health issues, cleanliness and pollution, and transportation. More than 100 cities have been selected for this analysis from Western and Eastern Europe, North and South America, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. For more information, please visit www.mercerhr.com/qualityofliving. Copies of individual city reports can also be purchased from this site.

Data was largely collected between September and November 2005 and is regularly updated to take into account changing circumstances. In particular, assessments will be revised in the case of any new developments. Only 215 cities have been considered in the Quality of Living 2006 rankings.

The worldwide rankings are produced from the most recent Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed, but please note that there is no overall summary report available. The cost of comparative quality of living indexes between a base city and a host city is $360 (multiple city comparisons are available). Additional information and copies of the reports are available from Mercer Client Services at 800 333 3070 or at www.imercer.com/qol . 

Mercer´s study is based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 39 key quality of living determinants, grouped into the following categories:

• Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc.)
• Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc.)
• Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc.)
• Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc.)
• Schools and education (standard and availability of schools, etc.)
• Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transportation, traffic congestion, etc.)
• Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc.)
• Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc.)
• Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc.)
• Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

Mercer Human Resource Consulting is the global leader for HR and related financial advice, products, and services, with more than 15,000 employees serving clients in over 190 cities and 41 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, Pacific, and London stock exchanges.