[Mothercanuck]

Methodology:
Data was largely collected between September and November 2006 and is regularly updated to take account of changing circumstances. In particular, the assessments will be revised in the case of any new developments. The Mercer database contains more than 350 cities, however only 215 cities have been considered for the quality of living 2007 ranking in order to compare from one year to the next.

Mercer’s study is based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 39 key quality of living determinants, grouped in the following categories:
• Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)
• Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)
• Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)
• Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)
• Schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc)
• Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc)
• Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc)
• Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc)
• Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc)
• Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)


The world's top cities offering the best quality of life
(New York is the base city with a score of 100 points)

2007 Rank City Country Points
1 Zurich Switzerland 108.1
2 Geneva Switzerland 108.0
=3 Vancouver Canada 107.7
=3 Vienna Austria 107.7
=5 Auckland New Zealand 107.3
=5 Düsseldorf Germany 107.3
7 Frankfurt Germany 107.1
8 Munich Germany 106.9
=9 Bern Switzerland 106.5
=9 Sydney Australia 106.5
11 Copenhagen Denmark 106.2
12 Wellington New Zealand 105.8
13 Amsterdam Netherlands 105.7
14 Brussels Belgium 105.6
15 Toronto Canada 105.4
16 Berlin Germany 105.2
17 Melbourne Australia 105.0
=18 Luxembourg Luxembourg 104.8
=18 Ottawa Canada 104.8
20 Stockholm Sweden 104.7
21 Perth Australia 104.5
22 Montreal Canada 104.3
23 Nürnberg Germany 104.2
=24 Calgary Canada 103.6
=24 Hamburg Germany 103.6
26 Oslo Norway 103.5
=27 Dublin Ireland 103.3
=27 Honolulu USA 103.3
29 San Francisco USA 103.2
=30 Adelaide Australia 103.1
=30 Helsinki Finland 103.1
32 Brisbane Australia 102.8
33 Paris France 102.7
34 Singapore Singapore 102.5
35 Tokyo Japan 102.3
=36 Lyon France 101.9
=36 Boston USA 101.9
38 Yokohama Japan 101.7
39 London UK 101.2
40 Kobe Japan 101.0
41 Barcelona Spain 100.6
=42 Madrid Spain 100.5
=42 Osaka Japan 100.5
=44 Washington DC USA 100.4
=44 Chicago USA 100.4
46 Portland USA 100.3
47 Lisbon Portugal 100.1
48 New York City USA 100.0
=49 Milan Italy 99.9
=49 Seattle USA 99.9