(14 March 2017) – Western European cities dominate the top of Mercer’s 2017 Quality of Living Rankings, with Vienna remaining in the No. 1 spot for the 8th year in a row. Singapore tops the list for city infrastructure.
Vienna occupies first place for overall quality of living for the 8th year running, with the rest of the top-ten list mostly filled by European cities: Zurich is in second place, with Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9), and Basel, a newcomer to the list, in 10th place.
The only non-European cities in the top ten are Auckland (3) and Vancouver (5). The highest ranking cities in Asia and Latin America are Singapore (25) and Montevideo (79), respectively.
Mercer’s survey also includes a city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city’s supply of electricity, drinking water, telephone and mail services, and public transportation as well as traffic congestion and the range of international flights available from local airports. Singapore tops the city infrastructure ranking, followed by Frankfurt and Munich both in 2nd place. Baghdad (230) and Port au Prince (231) rank last for city infrastructure.
Mercer’s survey is conducted annually to enable multinational companies and other organisations to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Mercer’s Quality of Living surveys also provide hardship premium recommendations for over 450 cities throughout the world; this year’s ranking includes 231 of these cities.