Quote:Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva top a global ranking on quality of living among 215 spots. Singapore is ranked 34th - but stays ahead of other key cities such as Tokyo and Hong Kong as the best among Asian cities.

Auckland is top city in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Syndney and Wellington.

The 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey by Mercer Humanh Resource Consulting took into consideration 39 quality of living criteria, such as political, social, economic and environmental factors; personal safety and health; and education, transport and other public services.

Said Mr Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer: "The combination of political stability and a high level of infrastructure makes the Swiss cities achieve pretty high ranks." Zurich has maintained its top position since surpassing Vancouver in 2002.

The survey is intended to be a guide for governments and companies to post employees on international assignments.

New York, the base score of 100, is ranked 48th, while Paris is 33rd and Tokyo, 35th.

Singapore retains its 34th position, Hong Kong in 70th place comes after Tokyo and other Japanese cities, while Kuala Lumpur was 75th, Johor Baru 101th and Bangkok, 109th.

In Asia, Chinese cities are on the rise in their quality of living standards, with Shanghai moving up 3 places to 100th and Beijing advancing from 121st to 116th.

Though Singapore "scores well" in all criteria, environmental issues were a downside, said Mr Parakatil. Traffic congestion and the humid climate can be issues, with the heat of the latter affecting the expatriate and his family.

Nevertheless, since Singapore had a score of 102.5, it is not necessary for companies to pay a hardship allowance to employees sent here. Companies would be advised to lay out this extra cost for employees sent to cities scoring less than 90, such as Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Taipei and Seoul.

Health and sanitation saw Singapore ranked 50th, because air pollution has a high weighting in the report. Infectious diseases inherent to tropical countries also pose a problem, said Mr Parakatil.

The criterion factors in the quality and availability of hospitals and medical supplies, as well as air pollution levels and infectious diseases. Waste removal and sweage systems, water potability and the presence of harmful animals and insects are also taken into account.

With the exception of Japanese cities, Asian ones tend to score rather low for sanitation and health. Hong Kong is ranked 117th, while Shanghai and Beijing are ranked 134th and 166th. In India, Chennai is ranked 177th while Mumbai is in 209th spot.

The air pollution and inadequate waste removal and sewage systems are the culprits here, although it is acknowledged that China's modernisation of medical infrastructure have improved living standards.

Western European cities continue to dominate the top 20, but their Eastern European counterparts are climbing the ranks with the aid of investment in infrastructure.

The most unliveable cities are those stricken by civil strife, with Baghdad scoring 14.5, the lowest in the survey.