The list is topped by Vienna, followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver.
Mercer conducts its Quality of Living survey annually to help multinational companies and other employers compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.
“Taking a short- or long-term work assignment in a new country is both an exciting and a challenging experience for employees and their families,” said Slagin Parakatil, Principal at Mercer.
“Cultures, societies, and comparatively different climates, as well as political instability, high crime rates, and poor infrastructure can be difficult to navigate and settle down in for employees and their families. Employers need to assess whether their staff and families will encounter any drop in quality of living when relocating and ensure they are fairly compensated for it.”
Mr. Parakatil added: “As with last year’s survey, we continue to recognise emerging cities that are increasingly becoming competitors to traditional business and finance centres. These so-called ‘second-tier emerging cites’ are investing, particularly in infrastructure to improve their quality-of-living standards and ultimately attract more foreign companies.”
Despite concerns about economic growth, the cities of Western Europe continue to offer a stable environment for employees and employers. Vienna (1) is followed by Zurich (2), Munich (4), Düsseldorf (6), and Frankfurt (7). With Geneva and Copenhagen in 8th and 9th places, respectively, Western European cities take seven places in the top 10.
The lowest-ranking cities in Western Europe are Belfast (63) and Athens (85).
Cities in Central and Eastern Europe have a wider range of quality-of-living standards.
The highest-ranking cities are Prague (68), Budapest, and Ljubljana (both ranked 75th). Emerging city Wroclaw (100), Poland, has a thriving cultural and social environment and good availability of consumer goods.
The region’s lower-ranking cities are Kiev (176), Tirana (180), and Minsk (189), with Kiev experiencing a considerable drop in the rankings following political instability and violence in Ukraine overall.
In the UK, London (40) is the highest-ranking city, followed by Birmingham (52), Glasgow (55), Aberdeen (57), and Belfast (63).
In North America, Canada and the United States continue to offer a high standard of living. Vancouver (5) tops the list for this region, followed by fellow Canadian cities Toronto (15) and Ottawa (16), whereas San Francisco (27), Boston (34), and Honolulu (36) are the highest-ranking US cities.
In South America, Montevideo (78), Buenos Aires (91), and Santiago (93) are the highest-ranked cities, whereas La Paz (156) and Caracas (179) rank lowest.
Asia is the region with the largest range in quality-of-living standards, with the highest-ranking city, Singapore, in 25th place and the lowest-ranking, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in 214th place.
In 74th place, Dubai ranks highest for quality of living across the Middle East and Africa region. It is followed by Abu Dhabi (77), also in the UAE, and Port Louis (82), Mauritius.
In South Africa, Durban (85) is an emerging city and ranks higher than the country’s traditional business centres, Cape Town (91) and Johannesburg (94).
Durban’s higher ranking is mainly due to its high-quality housing, plentiful recreational offerings and good consumer goods availability. However, the city’s crime problems keep it from reaching the top 50.
Ranking 230th, Baghdad is the lowest-ranking city in the region and on the overall list.