Auckland has been ranked third among the world's cities for quality of living, holding the position it had last year in an international survey.
Photo: 123RF
Auckland edged out its trans-Tasman competition with Australia's top ranked city, Sydney, snaring 10th spot. Melbourne moved up one place to 16th. Wellington is ranked 12th by survey.
Business consultancy Mercer's survey helps multinational companies and other employers determine allowances for staff on international assignments. It uses criteria such as political stability, healthcare, education, crime, recreation and transport.
Austrian capital Vienna tops the list for the sixth year in a row, boasting a vibrant cultural scene alongside comprehensive health care, moderate housing costs, and unlimited public transport for one euro a day.
The annual survey has German and Swiss cities performing well with Zurich second, and German cities Munich, Duesseldorf and Frankfurt remaining in the top 10.
Baghdad has again been deemed the worst to live in, ranking 230 on the list. Waves of sectarian violence have swept through the city since the American-led invasion in 2003.
Mercer's 2015 quality of living rankings:
1 Vienna, Austria
2 Zurich, Switzerland
3 Auckland, New Zealand
4 Munich, Germany
5 Vancouver, Canada
6 Dusseldorf, Germany
7 Frankfurt, Germany
8 Geneva, Switzerland
9 Copenhagen, Denmark
10 Sydney, Australia
11 Amsterdam, Netherlands
12 Wellington, New Zealand
13 Bern, Switzerland
14 Berlin, Germany
15 Toronto, Canada
16 Hamburg, Germany
16 Melbourne, Australia
16 Ottawa, Canada
19 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
19 Stockholm, Sweden
21 Stuttgart, Germany
22 Brussels, Belgium
22 Perth, Australia
24 Montreal, Canada
25 Nurnberg, Germany
26 Singapore, Singapore
27 Adelaide, Australia
27 Paris, France
27 San Francisco, United States
30 Canberra, Australia
31 Helsinki, Finland
31 Oslo, Norway
33 Calgary, Canada
34 Boston, United States
34 Dublin, Ireland
36 Honolulu, United States
37 Brisbane, Australia
38 Barcelona, Spain
39 Lyon, France
40 London, United Kingdom
41 Lisbon, Portugal
41 Milan, Italy
43 Chicago, United States
44 New York City, United States
44 Seattle, United States
44 Tokyo, Japan
47 Kobe, Japan
48 Los Angeles, United States
48 Yokohama, Japan
50 Washington, United States
51 Madrid, Spain
52 Birmingham, United Kingdom
52 Rome, Italy
54 Pittsburgh, United States
55 Glasgow, United Kingdom
55 Philadelphia, United States
57 Aberdeen, United Kingdom
58 Osaka, Japan
59 Leipzig, Germany
60 Minneapolis, United States
61 Nagoya, Japan
62 Dallas, United States
63 Belfast, United Kingdom
64 Houston, United States
65 Miami, United States
66 Atlanta, United States
67 St. Louis, United States
68 Prague, Czech Republic
69 Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe
70 Detroit, United States
70 Hong Kong, Hong Kong
72 San Juan, Puerto Rico
72 Seoul, South Korea
74 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
75 Budapest, Hungary
75 Ljubljana, Slovenia
77 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
78 Montevideo, Uruguay
79 Vilnius, Lithuania
79 Warsaw, Poland
81 Bratislava, Slovakia
82 Port Louis, Mauritius
83 Taipei, Taiwan
84 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
85 Athens, Greece
85 Durban, South Africa
87 Limassol, Cyprus
88 Tallinn, Estonia
89 Riga, Latvia
90 Busan, South Korea
91 Buenos Aires, Argentina
91 Cape Town, South Africa
93 Santiago, Chile
94 Johannesburg, South Africa
95 Panama City, Panama
96 Victoria, Seychelles
97 Zagreb, Croatia
98 Cheonan, South Korea
99 Taichung, Taiwan
100 Wroclaw, Poland
101 Shanghai, China
102 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
103 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
104 Muscat, Oman
105 Tel Aviv, Israel
106 San Jose, Costa Rica
107 Brasilia, Brazil
108 Doha, Qatar
109 Monterrey, Mexico
110 Bucharest, Romania
111 Noumea, New Caledonia
112 Nassau, Bahamas
113 Tunis, Tunisia
114 Asuncion, Paraguay
115 Sofia, Bulgaria
116 Rabat, Morocco
117 Bangkok, Thailand
118 Beijing, China
119 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
120 Sao Paulo, Brazil
121 Guangzhou, China
122 Amman, Jordan
122 Istanbul, Turkey
124 Lima, Peru
125 Kuwait City, Kuwait
126 Mexico City, Mexico
127 Manaus, Brazil
128 Casablanca, Morocco
129 Quito, Ecuador
130 Manama, Bahrain
131 Bogota, Colombia
132 Colombo, Sri Lanka
133 Chengdu, China
133 Windhoek, Namibia
135 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
136 Manila, Philippines
137 Nanjing, China
138 Hyderabad, India
139 Shenzhen, China
140 Jakarta, Indonesia
141 Belgrade, Serbia
142 Xi'an, China
142 Chongqing, China
144 Gaborone, Botswana
145 Pune, India
146 Bangalore, India
147 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
147 Qingdao, China
149 Lusaka, Zambia
150 Guatemala City, Guatemala
151 Chennai, India
152 Mumbai, India
153 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
154 Hanoi, Vietnam
154 New Delhi, India
156 Kingston, Jamaica
156 La Paz, Bolivia
156 Shenyang, China
159 Skopje, Macedonia
160 Kolkata, India
161 Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
162 Dakar, Senegal
163 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
164 Libreville, Gabon
165 Accra, Ghana
166 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
167 Moscow, Russia
168 Jilin, China
169 Kampala, Uganda
170 Cairo, Egypt
171 Vientiane, Laos
172 San Salvador, El Salvador
173 Managua, Nicaragua
174 Saint Petersburg, Russia
175 Almaty, Kazakhstan
176 Kiev, Ukraine
177 Blantyre, Malawi
178 Maputo, Mozambique
179 Caracas, Venezuela
180 Tirana, Albania
181 Beirut, Lebanon
182 Cotonou, Benin
183 Yerevan, Armenia
184 Banjul, Gambia
184 Tegucigalpa, Honduras
186 Nairobi, Kenya
187 Algiers, Algeria
188 Djibouti, Djibouti
189 Kigali, Rwanda
189 Minsk, Belarus
191 Islamabad, Pakistan
192 Yaounde, Cameroon
193 Havana, Cuba
194 Tbilisi, Georgia
195 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
196 Douala, Cameroon
197 Baku, Azerbaijan
198 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
199 Lahore, Pakistan
200 Luanda, Angola
201 Yangon, Myanmar
202 Karachi, Pakistan
203 Tehran, Iran
204 Lome, Togo
205 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
206 Harare, Zimbabwe
206 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
208 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
209 Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
210 Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan
211 Dhaka, Bangladesh
211 Lagos, Nigeria
213 Abuja, Nigeria
214 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
215 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
216 Tripoli, Libya
217 Antananarivo, Madagascar
217 Niamey, Niger
219 Bamako, Mali
220 Damascus, Syria
221 Nouakchott, Mauritania
222 Conakry, Guinea
223 Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of
224 Brazzaville, Congo, Republic of
225 Sana'a, Yemen
226 N'Djamena, Chad
227 Khartoum, Sudan
228 Port au Prince, Haiti
229 Bangui, Central African Republic
230 Baghdad, Iraq
- Agencies / Mercer
