Quality of living - Vienna remains the number one

For the 10^th consecutive time, Vienna tops the Mercer ranking in 2019, showing that Vienna's approach to quality of living is internationally acknowledged.

In the 2019 issue of its quality of living survey, the international consulting agency Mercer has again ranked Vienna the city with the highest quality of living worldwide. Vienna has topped this ranking without interruption since 2009. This year the Austrian capital is followed by Zurich (Switzerland) in 2^nd place and Vancouver (Canada) in 3^rd place.

Vienna's excellent infrastructure, the well-structured and reliable public transport network, the first-class water supply and healthcare and the large variety of cultural facilities and leisure activities were the main reasons why the Austrian capital was again ranked 1^st. The low crime rate and the availability of high-quality housing and leisure facilities also added to Vienna's top ranking.

Quality of living city ranking - Mercer

In 2020 and 2021 there was no ranking due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criteria and data

The annual Mercer study compares the quality of living of more than 450 cities worldwide based on 39 criteria including health standards, political stability, economic situation, education system, housing market and environmental quality. The ranking is based on facts obtained from independent institutions and public authorities. In addition, it considers the opinion of expats, i.e. people from abroad who live and work in Vienna, usually on a temporary basis.

New safety ranking

In 2019 Mercer published a separate ranking on personal safety, which analyses the cities' crime levels, personal freedom and other safety factors. Vienna came in 6^th place in this ranking behind Luxemburg, Helsinki, Basel, Bern and Zurich.