Swiss cities best places to live

The Swiss capital, Berne (above), and the country's financial centre, Zurich, are two of the cities with the best standard of living in the world, according to a new study.

The Swiss capital, Berne, and the country’s financial centre, Zurich, are two of the cities with the best standard of living in the world, according to a new study. The survey, published on Thursday by the London-based human resources consultants, William K. Mercer, put the two Swiss cities at the top of the list, together with Vienna and Vancouver.

The survey covered 218 cities worldwide, and considered 39 factors that affect the quality of life, including the political, economic and environmental situation, personal safety and health, education, transport and other services.

The cities were compared against New York as the base with a score of 100. The top four cities all scored 106. They were closely followed by another Swiss city, Geneva, and Sydney, Auckland and Copenhagen with 105.5 points.

“At the very top of the scale there is little to chose between the highest-scoring cities,” said Jasbir Singh, a partner with Mercer. “Crime levels, transport and education services are what can make the difference,” he added.

The survey is carried out annually and is used mainly by companies to calculate overseas allowances for expatriates or to decide on the best place to post their employees.

From staff and wire reports