Vienna offers the best quality of living, according to Mercer

On April 28, the human resources consulting firm Mercer released the results of its 2009 Quality of Living Survey. In this year’s raking, covering 215 cities, Vienna has been identified as the city offering the best quality of living worldwide.

The Austrian capital has thus vaulted ahead of last year’s top two cities Zurich and Geneva (now ranked third). The list is based on 39 criteria that serve as leading indicators of quality of life. Political stability, social services and environmental policies, are among the aspects considered, as well as such issues as health care, transport infrastructure and training.