Singapore has been recently named the city with the highest quality of life in Asia, though it is also the most expensive city for expatriates, according to a study conducted by Mercer, the world’s leading human resource consulting firm.

Mercer said that it evaluated living conditions in more than 440 cities worldwide based on numerous criteria, including political stability, crime levels, housing, healthcare, schools and education.

The firm also said that Singapore ranked 26th globally and the highest in Asia, followed regionally by three Japanese cities, Tokyo (44), Kobe (47) and Yokohama (48).

Kuala Lumpur was declared the second-highest ranked city in Southeast Asia and 84th in the global list. Sri Lanka’s Colombo (132) led in Southern Asia, followed by emerging Indian cities- Hyderabad (138) and Pune (145).

There were 12 Asian-Pacific cities in the list’s top 50, but European, Australian and New Zealand major cities dominated the top ten seats. Vienna topped the list with Zurich, Auckland and Munich as second, third and fourth place.

Ranking 230th, Baghdad is considered as the lowest quality of life in the world.-VNA