Singapore fends off regional rivals, clinches spot as Asia’s best city for expats

Japanese cities are close contenders.

Singapore is Asia’s best city for expats in terms of overall quality of living, according to latest Mercer’s18th annual Quality of Living survey.

The city-state holds the 26th spot in the global ranking of 230 cities, preceded by Nurnberg in Germany and Adelaide in Australia.

Apart from Singapore, Japanese cities dominated the Asian rankings, with Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama and Osaka clinching the remaining places in the top five.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s regional rival Hong Kong was named the sixth-best city in Asia, and clinched the 70th spot in the global rankings.

Following Singapore in South East Asia is Kuala Lumpur (86). Other key cities include Bangkok (129), Manila (136), and Jakarta (142).

For personal safety, the rankings for Asian cities again vary greatly. Singapore (8) ranks highest overall and is followed by five Japanese cities—Kobe, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama—that are tied for 32nd place.

Other key cities include Hong Kong (37), Taipei (78), Beijing (97), Seoul (115), New Delhi (142), and Jakarta (172). Following considerable political unrest and terrorist attacks in several tourist areas over the last few years, Bangkok ranked 173rd for personal safety.

Vienna continues its reign in the top spot for overall quality of living, followed by Zurich (2), Auckland (3), and Munich (4). Vancouver (5) is North America’s highest ranking city.

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