A new Mercer study ranks cities by the quality of life they offer expatriate executives and their families across the world

What foreign postings are most coveted by expatriate executives? To find out, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which provides advice to multinational companies on international assignments, has come up with a global ranking of the world's most livable cities based on 39 key quality-of-life issues. They include political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing, the environment and public safety. Mercer collected the data between September and November of 2006 and considered 215 cities around the globe. Switzerland's main commercial and cultural center, Zurich, topped the list this year, followed by Geneva, and Vancouver and Vienna, which tied for third. To see how other cities fared, check out this interactive table.

2007 RANK	2006 RANK	CITY	COUNTRY	2007 Index	2006 Index
195	196	ABIDJAN	Ivory Coast	43.7	43.7
88	92	ABU DHABI	United Arab Emirates	84.1	82.6
154	152	ACCRA	Ghana	60.9	60.9
197	194	ADDIS ABABA	Ethiopia	43.1	44.2
30	29	ADELAIDE	Australia	103.1	103.1
178	178	ALGIERS	Algeria	52.6	52.6
184	183	ALMATY	Kazakhstan	49.4	49.8
129	126	AMMAN	Jordan	71.2	72.2
13	13	AMSTERDAM	The Netherlands	105.7	105.7
201	202	ANTANANARIVO	Madagascar	41.1	41.1
111	113	ASUNCION	Paraguay	76.1	76.1
78	79	ATHENS	Greece	87.6	86.8
66	66	ATLANTA, GA	United States	95.7	95.7
5	5	AUCKLAND	New Zealand	107.3	107.3
215	215	BAGHDAD	Iraq	14.5	14.5
193	192	BAKU	Azerbaijan	44.8	44.8
194	195	BAMAKO	Mali	43.9	43.9
153	153	BANGALORE	India	61.3	60.6
109	107	BANGKOK	Thailand	76.8	77.7
213	213	BANGUI	Central African Republic	30.6	30.6
41	44	BARCELONA	Spain	100.6	100.2
116	121	BEIJING	China	74.3	73.4
179	179	BEIRUT	Lebanon	52.5	52.0
147	158	BELGRADE	Serbia	62.6	59.4
16	16	BERLIN	Germany	105.2	105.1
9	9	BERN	Switzerland	106.5	106.5
55	55	BIRMINGHAM	United Kingdom	98.3	98.3
134	135	BLANTYRE	Malawi	66.9	66.9
143	143	BOGOTA	Colombia	63.6	63.6
36	36	BOSTON, MA	United States	101.9	101.9
104	104	BRASILIA	Brazil	78.8	78.8
99	102	BRATISLAVA	Slovakia	81.7	80.5
214	214	BRAZZAVILLE	Congo	29.5	30.3
32	31	BRISBANE	Australia	102.8	102.8
14	14	BRUSSELS	Belgium	105.6	105.6
108	111	BUCHAREST	Romania	76.9	76.2
74	74	BUDAPEST	Hungary	90.2	90.8
79	78	BUENOS AIRES	Argentina	87.4	87.3
129	131	CAIRO	Egypt	71.2	71.2
24	25	CALGARY	Canada	103.6	103.6
85	83	CAPE TOWN	South Africa	85.7	86.0
141	140	CARACAS	Venezuela	64.1	64.5
119	123	CASABLANCA	Morocco	73.7	72.8
159	159	CHENNAI (MADRAS)	India	59.3	58.3
44	41	CHICAGO, IL	United States	100.4	100.4
59	59	CLEVELAND, OH	United States	98.2	98.2
136	120	COLOMBO	Sri Lanka	66.3	73.6
205	201	CONAKRY	Guinea Republic	40.4	41.2
11	11	COPENHAGEN	Denmark	106.2	106.2
172	174	COTONOU	Benin	54.3	54.3
146	144	DAKAR	Senegal	62.7	63.5
176	173	DAMASCUS	Syria	52.8	54.5
190	190	DAR ES SALAAM	Tanzania	47.4	47.4
64	65	DETROIT, MI	United States	96.1	96.1
203	200	DHAKA	Bangladesh	40.5	41.5
173	175	DJIBOUTI	Djibouti	54.2	54.2
186	186	DOUALA	Cameroon	49.2	48.9
80	85	DUBAI	United Arab Emirates	87.0	85.2
27	24	DUBLIN	Ireland	103.3	103.8
5	6	DUSSELDORF	Germany	107.3	107.2
7	7	FRANKFURT	Germany	107.1	107.0
2	2	GENEVA	Switzerland	108.0	108.1
55	55	GLASGOW	United Kingdom	98.3	98.3
131	133	GUANGZHOU	China	70.3	69.8
140	141	GUATEMALA CITY	Guatemala	64.3	64.3
125	127	GUAYAQUIL	Ecuador	72.0	72.0
24	26	HAMBURG	Germany	103.6	103.4
157	155	HANOI	Vietnam	60.1	60.0
168	168	HARARE	Zimbabwe	55.2	55.9
189	187	HAVANA	Cuba	47.8	48.7
30	29	HELSINKI	Finland	103.1	103.1
150	148	HO CHI MINH CITY	Vietnam	62.0	61.9
70	68	HONG KONG	Hong Kong	94.3	95.4
27	27	HONOLULU, HI	United States	103.3	103.3
68	68	HOUSTON, TX	United States	95.4	95.4
158	157	ISLAMABAD	Pakistan	59.8	59.8
121	108	ISTANBUL	Turkey	73.4	77.1
142	142	JAKARTA	Indonesia	63.7	63.7
162	161	JEDDAH	Saudi Arabia	57.3	57.1
122	124	JERUSALEM	Israel	72.5	72.5
161	160	JILIN	China	57.9	57.4
90	87	JOHANNESBURG	South Africa	83.3	84.0
101	99	JOHOR BAHARU	Malaysia	81.2	81.2
103	101	KAOHSIUNG	Taiwan	80.7	80.7
175	170	KARACHI	Pakistan	52.9	54.9
73	71	KATSUYAMA	Japan	91.4	93.1
191	191	KAZAN	Russia	46.7	47.0
212	212	KHARTOUM	Sudan	31.0	31.7
167	165	KIEV	Ukraine	56.2	56.2
138	139	KINGSTON	Jamaica	65.3	65.3