Another Thai city, Rayong, ranked 132nd, while Singapore was the top Asian city, at 34th place in the world.

The analysis is part of Mercer's annual Worldwide Quality of Life Survey,

covering more than 350 cities, to help

governments and multinational companies place staff in international assignments.

Each city is based on an evaluation of 39 criteria, including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services. Cities are ranked against New York City, which serves as the base index with a score of 100.

"When multinational companies set up expatriate assignments, they have to

provide attractive reward packages

to compensate employees for any

negative changes to their quality of

living," said Yvonne Sonsino, a partner at Mercer.

"Moving abroad can be a big upheaval for expatriates and their families, so international assignments tend to carry large price tags, particularly if they are in cities with low living standards facing political unrest or terrorist threats."

She added, "Many companies use benchmark data to help them structure pay deals at the right level."

Zurich ranks as the world's top city for quality of life. The city scored 108.2 points, only marginally ahead of Geneva's 108.1, while Vancouver followed in third place with 107.7. In contrast, Baghdad is the lowest-ranking city in the survey, scoring just 14.5 points.

In Asia, Singapore ranked 34th with a score of 102.5, followed by Tokyo, Japan's highest-scoring city, in 35th place with 102.3.

Hong Kong's modern and efficient infrastructure, including its airport, which is considered one of the best in the world, pushed it up from 70th to 68th place, with 95.4 points.

Mercer Human Capital Products and Solutions leader for the Asia-Pacific Neo Siew Khim said: "Singapore's positioning as the highest-ranked Asian city is attributed mainly to its strong political and social environment, its repositioning as a knowledge-based economy, excellent health services, efficient public services, transport and airport and a vibrant cultural scene.

"Overall, during the past six or seven years, we have seen an increasing trend in foreign direct investment. We anticipate that as Singapore gains further ground as an excellent place to live, it will better be able to attract foreign talent as well as retain local talent, thereby growing its workforce to a higher level of quality. This, among other factors, will in turn help attract more foreign investment to Singapore."

The top-ranked city in China was Shanghai, in 103rd place with a score of 80.1.

"Beijing and Shanghai are on the rise and should experience rapid improvements in their quality of life in the coming years. This will mainly be due to greater international investment

driven by the availability and lower cost of labour and manufacturing expertise," explained Mercer senior researcher Slagin Parakatil.