Auckland outranks Australian cities

Australia may be the lucky country, but it's New Zealand which has the best city to live in Down Under.

Auckland has maintained its number three spot in Mercer's latest Quality of Life Index, after being named the third most liveable city last year.

It scored the position for its culture, environment, political stability, safety and ease of doing business.

Wellington - which Prime Minister John Key once described as "dying" - came in at 12th place.

And it seems the capital and the City of Sails are getting something right that Australia is missing.

Sydney was the highest ranked Australian city at 10th place, followed by Melbourne at 16, Perth at 22, Adelaide at 27, Canberra at 30 and Brisbane at 37.

Vienna was ranked top and other European cities dominated the rankings while Baghdad was the lowest ranked city for quality of life.

"New Zealand cities enjoy a high quality of living, providing an attractive location for global companies looking to place employees," said Mercer's Lorraine Jennings.

The survey, which is designed as a tool to help international organisations determine salary levels for expatriate employees, assessed 230 cities based on 39 criteria.

They include housing, political stability, crime, leisure, air pollution, infrastructure, the health system, education and the economy.

QUALITY OF LIVING TOP 10

• 1. Vienna, Austria

• 2. Zurich, Switzerland

• 3. Auckland, New Zealand

• 4. Munich, Germany

• 5. Vancouver, Canada

• 6. Dusseldorf, Germany

• 7. Frankfurt, Germany

• 8. Geneva, Switzerland

• 9. Copenhagen, Denmark

• 10. Sydney, Australia

Source: Mercer 2015 Quality of Living Index