Sydney, Auckland make 'most liveable' list


Sydney ranks No. 4 in the world among the "most liveable" cities

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Only two cities in the Asia-Pacific region -- Sydney and Auckland -- rate among the world's 10 most liveable cities, according to an annual survey released Monday.

Sydney ranks equal in fourth place with Geneva, behind Zurich, Vancouver and Vienna. They are followed by Frankfurt, Helsinki, Auckland and Copenhagen.

Melbourne ranked No. 12, the same as last year.

Tokyo was the next highest city in the Asia-Pacific region, ranked No. 25, followed by Singapore and Kobe at equal No. 35.

Among the world's other key financial centers, London and New York ranked equal 41st, while Hong Kong came in at No. 69.

Swiss cities dominated the survey of 215 centers, ranked according to their quality of life.

Political environment


Auckland, noted for its sailing opportunities, ranked equal sixth

The survey, by human resources consultancy Willam M. Mercer, ranks a city's desirability by 39 criteria, including political and social environment, stability, personal safety, economic and financial situation and the natural and socio-cultural environments.

Other factors include medical facilities and health care, education, transport, housing, shopping and recreation.

New York is the baseline city for global comparison.

Other Asian cities to appear on the Mercer list include Osaka at 48, Kuala Lumpur at 77, Taipei at 80, Seoul at 94, Bangkok 109, Shanghai and Beijing at equal 139, Mumbai 160 and New Delhi at 177.

The world's least appealing city remains Brazzaville in Congo.

Mercer senior researcher Slagin Parakatil said that while the world's living standards had risen slightly since last year, the gap between the cities at the top and bottom of the table was still large.

"The basic comforts of life, hygiene and personal safety are the main differentiators, and these are often lacking in the developing countries," Parakatil said in a statement with the survey.

"The gap is magnified by economic and political stability."