Three cities from Pakistan made it to consulting firm Mercer's quality of living ranking of 230 cities. At positions 193, 199 and 202, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi feature very low on the list, which is topped by Austrian capital Vienna.

Vienna's 1.7 million inhabitants benefit from the city's cafe culture and museums, theatres and operas. Rents and public transport costs in the city whose architecture is marked by its past as the centre of the Habsburg empire are cheap compared with other western capitals.

Switzerland's Zurich, New Zealand's Auckland, Germany's Munich and Canada's Vancouver follow Vienna ─ which has achieved the best position for the seventh time in a row ─ in the top five of most pleasant cities to live in.

Luxembourg ranks highest on the list for personal safety, while Baghdad ranks lowest ─ both on personal safety and on the overall list. Waves of sectarian violence have swept through the Iraqi city since the American-led invasion in 2003.

Region-wise, Singapore ranks highest on quality of living in Asia, Dubai in the Middle East and Africa, Montevideo, Uruguay in South America, Vancouver in North America and Auckland in New Zealand.

European cities dominate Mercer’s 18th annual Quality of Living survey ─ seven out of 10 cities in the top 10 are European cities.

The survey of 230 cities helps companies and organisations determine compensation and hardship allowances for international staff. It uses dozens of criteria such as political stability, health care, education, crime, recreation and transport.

Mercer analyses living conditions on the basis of 39 factors which are grouped into 10 categories. These include political and social environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, medical and health considerations, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing and natural environment.