Photos: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Lagos & Abuja make the 2018's World's Best Places For Quality of Life Survey List

Austria's capital Vienna once again defended its position as the city offering the best quality of life in the world, while Iraq's capital Baghdad remains the worst in an annual survey from consulting firm Mercer.

📹: IG @essa1010

Mercer's survey of 231 cities helps companies and organisations determine compensation and hardship allowances for international staff. Its criteria include political stability, health care, education, crime, recreation and transport. Europe has eight of the world's top 10 most pleasant cities: Germany and Switzerland each have three cities in the top 10, while New Zealand, Canada and Australia each have one. However, London is down from 40th to 41st. With a population of 1.8 million, Vienna topped the survey for the ninth year in a row, boasting a vibrant cultural scene, comprehensive healthcare and moderate housing costs.

The full results of 2018's world's best places for quality of life survey 

1 Vienna, Austria

2 Zürich, Switzerland

3 Auckland, New Zealand

3 Munich, Germany

5 Vancouver, Canada

6 Düsseldorf, Germany

7 Frankfurt, Germany

8 Geneva, Switzerland

9 Copenhagen, Denmark

10 Basel, Switzerland

10 Sydney, Australia

12 Amsterdam, Netherlands

13 Berlin, Germany

14 Bern, Switzerland

15 Wellington, New Zealand

16 Melbourne, Australia

16 Toronto, Canada

18, Luxembourg

19 Ottawa, Canada

19 Hamburg, Germany

21 Perth, Australia

21 Montreal, Canada

23 Stockholm, Sweden

23 Nurnberg, Germany

25 Singapore 

25 Oslo, Norway

27 Brussels, Belgium

28 Stuttgart, Germany

29 Adelaide, Australia

30 Canberra, Australia

30 San Francisco, CA 

32 Helsinki, Finland

33 Calgary, Canada

34 Dublin, Ireland

35 Boston, MA 

36 Honolulu, United States

37 Brisbane, Australia

38 Lisbon, Portugal

39 Paris

40 Lyon, France

41 London 

42 Milan, Italy

43 Barcelona

44 Seattle

45 New York

46 Edinburgh 

47 Chicago

48 Washington

49 Madrid

50 Tokyo

50 Kobe, Japan

50 Birmingham, United Kingdom

50 Glasgow, United Kingdom

50 Philadelphia, United States

55 Yokohama, Japan

55 Pittsburgh, United States

57 Rome

58 Aberdeen, United Kingdom

59 Osaka, Japan

60 Leipzig, Germany

61 Minneapolis, United States

62 Dallas, United States

63 Atlanta, United States

64 Los Angeles, United States

64 Nagoya, Japan

64 Houston, United States

64 Miami, United States

68 Belfast, United Kingdom

69 Prague, Czech Rebublic

70 St. Louis, United States

71 Detroit, United States

71 Hong Kong 

73 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe

74 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

75 Ljubljana, Slovenia

76 Budapest, Hungary

77 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

77 Montevideo, Uruguay

79 Seoul, South Korea

80 Bratislava, Slovakia

81 Vilnius, Lithuania

82 Warsaw, Poland

83 Port Louis, Mauritius

84 Taipei, Taiwan

85 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

86 Athens

87 Limassol, Cyprius

87 Tallinn, Estonia

89 Durban, South Africa

90 Riga, Latvia

91 Buenos Aires, Argentina

92 Santiago, Chile

93 Busan, South Korea

94 Cape Town, South Africa

95 Johannesburg, South Africa

96 San Juan, Puerto Rico

96 Panama City, Panama

98 Victoria, Seychelles

98 Zagreb, Croatia

100 Wroclaw, Poland

101 Taichung, Taiwan

101 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

103 Shanghai, China

104 Tel Aviv, Israel

105 Muscat, Oman

106 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

107 Bucharest, Romania

108 Brasilia, Brazil

109 Noumea, New Caledonia

110 Doha, Qatar

111 Nassau, Bahamas

112 Monterrey, Mexico

113 San José, Costa Rica

114 Tunis, Tunisia

115 Asunción, Paraguay 

 116 Sofia, Bulgaria

117 Rabat, Morocco

118 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

119 Amman, Jordan

119 Beijing, China

119 Guangzhou, China

122 Quito, Ecuador

122 São Paulo, Brazil

124 Lima, Peru

124 Casablanca, Morocco

126 Kuwait City 

127 Manaus, Brazil

128 Bogotá, Colombia

129 Mexico City 

130 Windhoek, Namibia

130 Shenzhen, China

132 Bangkok 

133 Chengdu, China

134 Istanbul, Turkey

135 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

136 Manama, Bahrain

137 Colombo, Sri Lanka

137 Manila, Philippines

139 Belgrade, Serbia

140 Nanjing, China

141 Gaborone, Botswana

142 Jakarta, Indonesia

142 Hyderabad, India

142 Pune, India

145 Xian, China

146 Qingdao, China

147 Chongqing, China

147 Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

149 Bengaluru, India

150 Lusaka, Zambia

151 Chennai, India

152 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

153 Kingston, Jamaica

154 Mumbai, India

155 Hanoi, Vietnam

156 La Paz, Bolivia

157 Shenyang, China

158 Guatemala City, Guatemala

159 Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

160 Kolkata, India

161 Skopje, Macedonia

162 New Delhi, India

163 Dakar, Senegal

164 Libreville, Gabon

165 Accra, Ghana

165 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

167 Moscow

168 Jeddah 

169 Jilin, China

170 Vientiane, Laos

171 Yerevan, Armenia

172 Kampala, Uganda

173 Kiev, Ukraine

173 Managua, Nicaragua

173 St. Petersburg, Russia

176 Tirana, Albania

177 Almaty, Kazakhstan

178 Cairo, Eqypt

179 San Salvador, El Salvador

180 Blantyre, Malawi

181 Beirut, Lebanon

182 Cotonou, Benin

182 Maputo, Mozambique

184 Algiers, Algeria

185 Banjul, Gambia

186 Nairobi, Kenya

187 Tbilisi, Georgia

188 Minski, Belarus

189 Tegucigalpa, Honduras

190 Djibouti 

190 Kigali, Rwanda

192 Havana, Cuba

193 Caracas, Venezuela

194 Yaounde, Cameroon

195 Islamabad, Pakistan

196 Baku, Azerbaijan

197 Phnom Penh, Cambodia

198 Douala, Cameroon

199 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

200 Tehran, Iran

201 Luanda, Angola

202 Lahore, Pakistan

203 Yangon, Myanmar

203 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

205 Karachi, Pakistan

206 Lome, Togo

207 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

208 Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

209 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

210 Harare, Zimbabwe

211 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

212 Lagos, Nigeria

213 Abuja, Nigeria

214 Dushanbe, Tajikistan

214 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

216 Dhaka, Bangladesh

217 Antananarivo, Madagascar

218 Tripoli, Libya

218 Niamey, Niger

220 Bamako, Mali

221 Nouakchott, Mauritania

222 Conakry, Guinea Republic

223 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

224 Brazzaville, Congo

225 Damascus, Syria

226 N'Djamena, Chad

227 Khartoum, Sudan

228 Port au Prince, Haiti

229 Sana'a, Yemen Arab Republic

230 Bangui, Central African Republic

231 Baghdad, Iraq 

Source: Mercer