Zurich has the highest quality of life among global cities while Baghdad has the lowest, according to a survey of 215 centers compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
The survey scores cities on markers such as the availability of health care, the level of air pollution, and the presence of harmful animals before ranking them against New York as the base city.
Geneva came second in the so-called Quality of Living index, followed by Vienna, Vancouver, and Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, which also ranked top Asian city, Mercer said in a statement on its Web site. Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and the New Zealand capital Wellington made up the rest of the top five Asian locations.
After Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Calgary filled out the North American top five. Düsseldorf and Frankfurt were fourth and fifth-placed in Europe.
At the bottom of the index, Brazzaville in Congo, Bangui in the Central African Republic, and Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, scored the lowest after Baghdad.
(source: Bloomberg News, Spiegel-online)
2007 World-wide quality of living survey
Quote:Top rankings for cities in Asia
The top five cities in Asia were:
Auckland (tied for 5th)
Sydney (tied for 9th)
Wellington (12th)
Melbourne (17th)
Perth (21st)
Osaka (tied for 42nd) was the lowest ranking Asian city in the top 50.
Top rankings for cities in Europe
The top five cities in Europe were:
Zurich (1st)
Geneva (2nd)
Vienna (tied 3th)
Dusseldorf (tied for 5th)
Frankfort (7th)
The lowest ranking European city in the top 50 was Milan (tied for 49th).
Top ranking for cities in the Americas
The top five cities in the Americas were:
Vancouver (3rd)
Toronto (15th)
Ottawa (tied for 18th)
Montreal (22nd)
Calgary (24th)
The lowest ranking Americas city in the top 50 was Seattle (tied for 49th).
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