In light of the ongoing changes in living conditions happening worldwide due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis in Ukraine, the releases of Mercer's Quality of Living city ranking have been suspended. Revised Quality of Living Reports and Location Evaluation Reports for mobility clients are being released on schedule. Learn more about our Quality of Living data solutions.
Globally, Vienna tops the ranking for the 10th year running, closely followed by Zurich, the runner-up. This year, Mercer provides a separate ranking on personal safety. Western Europe dominates the ranking, with Luxembourg named as the safest city in the world.
2019 city ranking
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| Rank |
City |
Country/region |
| 1 |
Vienna |
Austria |
| 2 |
Zürich |
Switzerland |
| 3 |
Vancouver |
Canada |
| 3 |
Munich |
Germany |
| 3 |
Auckland |
New Zealand |
| 6 |
Düsseldorf |
Germany |
| 7 |
Frankfurt |
Germany |
| 8 |
Copenhagen |
Denmark |
| 9 |
Geneva |
Switzerland |
| 10 |
Basel |
Switzerland |
| Rank |
City |
Country/Region |
| 11 |
Sydney |
Australia |
| 11 |
Amsterdam |
Netherlands |
| 13 |
Berlin |
Germany |
| 14 |
Bern |
Switzerland |
| 15 |
Wellington |
New Zealand |
| 16 |
Toronto |
Canada |
| 17 |
Melbourne |
Australia |
| 18 |
Luxembourg |
Luxembourg |
| 19 |
Ottawa |
Canada |
| 19 |
Hamburg |
Germany |
| 21 |
Perth |
Australia |
| 21 |
Montréal |
Canada |
| 23 |
Nuremburg |
Germany |
| 23 |
Stockholm |
Sweden |
| 25 |
Oslo |
Norway |
| 25 |
Singapore |
Singapore |
| 27 |
Stuttgart |
Germany |
| 28 |
Brussels |
Belgium |
| 29 |
Adelaide |
Australia |
| 30 |
Canberra |
Australia |
| 31 |
Helsinki |
Finland |
| 32 |
Calgary |
Canada |
| 33 |
Dublin |
Ireland |
| 34 |
San Francisco |
United States |
| 35 |
Brisbane |
Australia |
| 36 |
Boston |
United States |
| 37 |
Lisbon |
Portugal |
| 37 |
Honolulu |
United States |
| 39 |
Paris |
France |
| 40 |
Lyon |
France |
| 41 |
Milan |
Italy |
| 41 |
London |
United Kingdom |
| 43 |
Barcelona |
Spain |
| 44 |
New York |
United States |
| 45 |
Edinburgh |
United Kingdom |
| 46 |
Madrid |
Spain |
| 46 |
Seattle |
United States |
| 48 |
Glasgow |
United Kingdom |
| 49 |
Kobe |
Japan |
| 49 |
Tokyo |
Japan |
| 49 |
Birmingham |
United Kingdom |
| 49 |
Chicago |
United States |
| 53 |
Washington |
United States |
| 54 |
Philadelphia |
United States |
| 55 |
Yokohama |
Japan |
| 56 |
Rome |
Italy |
| 57 |
Aberdeen |
United Kingdom |
| 58 |
Osaka |
Japan |
| 59 |
Pittsburgh |
United States |
| 60 |
Leipzig |
Germany |
| 61 |
Minneapolis |
United States |
| 62 |
Nagoya |
Japan |
| 63 |
Dallas |
United States |
| 64 |
Belfast |
United Kingdom |
| 64 |
Atlanta |
United States |
| 66 |
Houston |
United States |
| 66 |
Los Angeles |
United States |
| 66 |
Miami |
United States |
| 69 |
Prague |
Czech Republic |
| 70 |
St. Louis |
United States |
| 71 |
Hong Kong |
Hong Kong SAR |
| 72 |
Pointe-à-Pitre |
Guadeloupe (France) |
| 72 |
Detroit |
United States |
| 74 |
Ljubljana |
Slovenia |
| 74 |
Dubai |
United Arab Emirates |
| 76 |
Budapest |
Hungary |
| 77 |
Seoul |
South Korea |
| 78 |
Abu Dhabi |
United Arab Emirates |
| 78 |
Montevideo |
Uruguay |
| 80 |
Bratislava |
Slovakia |
| 81 |
Vilnius |
Lithuania |
| 82 |
Warsaw |
Poland |
| 83 |
Port Louis |
Mauritius |
| 84 |
Taipei |
Taiwan |
| 85 |
Kuala Lumpur |
Malaysia |
| 86 |
Limassol |
Cyprus |
| 86 |
Tallinn |
Estonia |
| 88 |
Durban |
South Africa |
| 89 |
Athens |
Greece |
| 90 |
Riga |
Latvia |
| 91 |
Buenos Aires |
Argentina |
| 92 |
San Juan |
Puerto Rico |
| 93 |
Santiago |
Chile |
| 94 |
Busan |
South Korea |
| 95 |
Cape Town |
South Africa |
| 96 |
Johannesburg |
South Africa |
| 97 |
Panama City |
Panama |
| 98 |
Zagreb |
Croatia |
| 98 |
Victoria |
Seychelles |
| 100 |
Wroclaw |
Poland |
| 101 |
Johor Bahru |
Malaysia |
| 101 |
Taichung |
Taiwan |
| 103 |
Shanghai |
China |
| 104 |
Tel Aviv |
Israel |
| 105 |
Muscat |
Oman |
| 106 |
Bandar Seri Begawan |
Brunei |
| 107 |
Brasilia |
Brazil |
| 108 |
San José |
Costa Rica |
| 109 |
Bucharest |
Romania |
| 110 |
Noumea |
New Caledonia |
| 110 |
Doha |
Qata |
| 112 |
Nassau |
Bahamas |
| 113 |
Monterrey |
Mexico |
| 114 |
Tunis |
Tunisia |
| 115 |
Asunción |
Paraguay |
| 116 |
Sofia |
Bulgaria |
| 117 |
Rabat |
Morocco |
| 118 |
Rio de Janeiro |
Brazil |
| 119 |
São Paulo |
Brazil |
| 120 |
Beijing |
China |
| 120 |
Amman |
Jordan |
| 122 |
Guangzhou |
China |
| 122 |
Quito |
Ecuador |
| 124 |
Casablanca |
Morocco |
| 124 |
Lima |
Peru |
| 126 |
Kuwait City |
Kuwait |
| 127 |
Manaus |
Brazil |
| 128 |
Bogotá |
Colombia |
| 129 |
Mexico City |
Mexico |
| 130 |
Istanbul |
Turkey |
| 131 |
Windhoek |
Namibia |
| 132 |
Shenzhen |
China |
| 133 |
Bangkok |
Thailand |
| 134 |
Chengdu |
China |
| 135 |
Santo Domingo |
Dominican Republic |
| 136 |
Manama |
Bahrain |
| 137 |
Manila |
Philippines |
| 138 |
Colombo |
Sri Lanka |
| 139 |
Belgrade |
Serbia |
| 140 |
Nanjing |
China |
| 141 |
Gaborone |
Botswana |
| 142 |
Jakarta |
Indonesia |
| 143 |
Hyderabad |
India |
| 143 |
Pune |
India |
| 145 |
Xian |
China |
| 146 |
Qingdao |
China |
| 147 |
Port of Spain |
Trinidad & Tobago |
| 148 |
Chongqing |
China |
| 149 |
Bengaluru |
India |
| 150 |
Lusaka |
Zambia |
| 151 |
Chennai |
India |
| 152 |
Kingston |
Jamaica |
| 153 |
Ho Chi Minh City |
Vietnam |
| 154 |
Mumbai |
India |
| 155 |
Hanoi |
Vietnam |
| 156 |
La Paz |
Bolivia |
| 156 |
Sarajevo |
Bosnia-Herzegovina |
| 158 |
Shenyang |
China |
| 158 |
Guatemala City |
Guatemala |
| 160 |
Kolkata |
India |
| 161 |
Skopje |
Macedonia |
| 162 |
New Delhi |
India |
| 163 |
Dakar |
Senegal |
| 164 |
Riyadh |
Saudi Arabia |
| 165 |
Accra |
Ghana |
| 166 |
Libreville |
Gabon |
| 167 |
Moscow |
Russia |
| 168 |
Jeddah |
Saudi Arabia |
| 169 |
Jilin |
China |
| 170 |
Yerevan |
Armenia |
| 171 |
Vientiane |
People's Democratic Republic of Laos |
| 172 |
Kampala |
Uganda |
| 173 |
Kyiv |
Ukraine |
| 174 |
St. Petersburg |
Russia |
| 175 |
Tirana |
Albania |
| 175 |
San Salvador |
El Salvador |
| 177 |
Cairo |
Eqypt |
| 177 |
Almaty |
Kazakhstan |
| 179 |
Banjul |
Gambia |
| 180 |
Managua |
Nicaragua |
| 181 |
Blantyre |
Malawi |
| 182 |
Cotonou |
Benin |
| 183 |
Maputo |
Mozambique |
| 184 |
Beirut |
Lebanon |
| 185 |
Algiers |
Algeria |
| 186 |
Nairobi |
Kenya |
| 187 |
Tbilisi |
Georgia |
| 188 |
Minsk |
Belarus |
| 189 |
Djibouti |
Djibouti |
| 189 |
Tegucigalpa |
Honduras |
| 191 |
Kigali |
Rwanda |
| 192 |
Havana |
Cuba |
| 193 |
Yaounde |
Cameroon |
| 194 |
Islamabad |
Pakistan |
| 195 |
Baku |
Azerbaijan |
| 196 |
Phnom Penh |
Cambodia |
| 197 |
Douala |
Cameroon |
| 198 |
Dar es Salaam |
Tanzania |
| 199 |
Luanda |
Angola |
| 199 |
Tehran |
Iran |
| 201 |
Karachi |
Pakistan |
| 202 |
Caracas |
Venezuela |
| 203 |
Yangon |
Myanmar |
| 203 |
Lome |
Togo |
| 203 |
Tashkent |
Uzbekistan |
| 206 |
Bishkek |
Kyrgyzstan |
| 207 |
Lahore |
Pakistan |
| 208 |
Abidjan |
Cote d'Ivoire |
| 209 |
Addis Ababa |
Ethiopia |
| 210 |
Harare |
Zimbabwe |
| 211 |
Ashgabat |
Turkmenistan |
| 212 |
Lagos |
Nigeria |
| 213 |
Abuja |
Nigeria |
| 214 |
Antananarivo |
Madagascar |
| 215 |
Dushanbe |
Tajikistan |
| 216 |
Ouagadougou |
Burkina Faso |
| 217 |
Dhaka |
Bangladesh |
| 218 |
Tripoli |
Libya |
| 218 |
Niamey |
Niger |
| 220 |
Bamako |
Mali |
| 221 |
Nouakchott |
Mauritania |
| 222 |
Conakry |
Guinea Republic |
| 223 |
Kinshasa |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| 224 |
Brazzaville |
Congo |
| 225 |
Damascus |
Syria |
| 226 |
N'Djamena |
Chad |
| 227 |
Khartoum |
Sudan |
| 228 |
Port au Prince |
Haiti |
| 229 |
Sana'a |
Yemen Arab Republic |
| 230 |
Bangui |
Central African Republic |
| 231 |
Baghdad |
Iraq |
This ranking indicates differences in quality of living factors affecting expatriates in popular assignment destinations and should not be used as the basis for determining hardship premiums, as many complex and dynamic factors must be taken into account. Please contact us about developing your international assignment program.
Mercer and quality of living data
Mercer is the leading provider of data on quality of living for employees sent to work abroad. Ongoing research on the practicalities of daily life for these expatriate employees and their families forms the basis of our annual ranking of the quality of living in many prevalent assignment locations.
Quality of living data
Mercer offers objective recommendations for compensation premiums for employees assigned to work in locations where the quality of living or infrastructure differs from their home locations.
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Ranking press release
Learn more about the trends and highlights in this year's ranking, plus comments from Mercer's mobility experts.
Read