Quality of living in Vienna is outstanding.

Seven cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have been ranked among the 10 best in the world.

Vienna has the world's paramount class of living, according to global consultancy Mercer, with Zurich and Geneva just behind it and Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Bern also in the top 10.

Only five British cities made it into the top 100 – London is the highest at 39 followed by Aberdeen (53), Birmingham (55), Glasgow (57) and Belfast (63).

Not accepted with companies as relocation bases, popular cities including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh were thrown astray from the list on these grounds.

Reckoned to be among the least desirable places to live, Baghdad and Port-au-Prince in Haiti both made it to the top 100.

Vienna has been in the zenith for the past five years, with all countries measured on a point-scoring index against New York, which is given a pedestal score of 100. New York itself was ranked 49 in the list just behind Washington and Chicago.

Cities are assessed on local living conditions and analyzed according to 39 factors in 10 categories. These comprise political stability, banking services, waste disposal, standard and accessibility of international schools, restaurants and theatres, and record of natural disasters.

The list proves to be of great help to governments and multi-national companies for fair compensation of employees when placing them on international assignments.

Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer, said, "As the world economy becomes more globalised, cities beyond the traditional financial centers are emerging as attractive places in which to expand or establish a business.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Taipei in Taiwan, and Busan in South Korea all made it in to the top 100.