Next up: Zurich

European cities offer the best quality of life for expatriate staff, according to a study of more than 200 locations.
The survey by Mercer, the international consultants, ranked the cities on the basis of personal safety, health and education facilities, transport, other public services, and social, economic, environmental and political factors.

The most attractive location for expatriate businesspeople was Zurich. The Swiss commercial centre, home of UBS, Swiss Re and Zurich financial services, scored 108 points under a ranking system that uses New York on 100 points as a base.

The US business centre, by comparison, was in 49th place, behind other US cities: Honolulu (28th), San Francisco (29th), Boston (37th) and Chicago and Washington DC (equal 44th).

Baghdad was in bottom place with just 13.5 points, ahead of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, with 29.3 points and Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo capital, with 29.5.