ECA International, a consultancy firm, published its annual ranking on Wednesday. It evaluated a host of factors to form an assessment of the overall quality of living in over 470 locations worldwide.

Factors assessed include climate; availability of health services; housing and utilities; isolation; access to a social network and leisure facilities; infrastructure; personal safety; political tensions; and air quality.

Cities throughout France, Germany and Belgium declined in its rankings owing to heightened security threats.

A spokesperson for the company ECA said: 

“Luxembourg has fallen in our rankings due to pressures with availability/supply of housing pushing the scoring for this category somewhat higher. However, it still remains in the global top 10.”

Copenhagen and Bern are both classified as the most liveable city for Europeans; London is 47th globally.

Neil Ashman, senior location ratings analyst at ECA International, said in an announcement:

“The significance of some of the factors assessed, such as distance from home and differences in culture, language and climate, will vary according to where someone originates from. For this reason, our analysis considers both the home and destination countries. So, while Copenhagen and Bern rank at the top for Europeans they fall to ninth and 13th respectively for someone coming from Asia. For Asian expatriates, Singapore is the most liveable location. It ranks 95th globally from the perspective of a European assignee.”