KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru were ranked at 10 and 12, respectively, in Asia in an international survey ranking cities for quality of life.
A statement released by international human resources consulting firm Mercer said Kuala Lumpur was ranked second highest in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore, which was also adjudged Asia’s top city in terms of quality of life.
Checks on Mercer’s website showed that five Japanese cities — Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya — came in behind Singapore in Asia, followed by Hong Kong and Seoul, which rose two places this year as its political stability returned.
Other Asian cities mentioned in the survey include Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Of all the cities in East and Southeast Asia, it said, Singapore ranked the highest in Asia and Phnom Penh the lowest, for personal safety.
It also said Vienna tops the global ranking for the 10th year running, followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver.
Mercer’s survey is one of the most comprehensive of its types in the world and is conducted annually to enable multinational companies and other organisations to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.
In addition to valuable data on relative quality of living, Mercer’s survey provides assessment for more than 450 cities throughout the world; this ranking includes 231 of these cities.
The living conditions survey are analysed according to 39 factors in a group of 10 categories which comprises of political and social environment; economic environment; socio-cultural environment; medical and health considerations; schools and education; public services and transportation; recreation; consumer goods; housing; and natural environment.