Auckland 'world's third most liveable city'

New Zealand cities have been ranked among the most liveable in the world, with Auckland coming third behind only Vienna and Zurich.

Auckland moved up one place from last year and Wellington came in at 13th in the Mercer 2011 Quality of Living Survey. Sydney was the best of the Australian cities at 11th; Melbourne was 18th and Perth 21st.

The survey evaluated 221 cities - compared with New York City - on politics, socio-economics, health, education, transport and housing.

Auckland was the only Southern Hemisphere city to be ranked in the world's top 10.

Georgina Harley, leader of Mercer's Information Product Solutions business, said Auckland and Wellington ticked all the quality of living boxes - but Auckland had an edge.

"While Wellington is the political capital, Auckland is the commercial capital of New Zealand. It has more amenities, the weather is considered more pleasant and it has the qualities of an international city.''

The survey said that in an uncertain global climate, Auckland and Wellington promised "retreat from economic and political unrest''.

"In contrast to Europe and the United States, New Zealand has a relatively strong economic outlook which increases its appeal as a safe haven from economic uncertainty,'' Ms Harley said.

But a stable economy was only part of why the cities rated well. New Zealand cities provided quality housing close to the city, infrastructure, comprehensive healthcare, a wide selection of restaurants, good education and a good wider environment.

"New Zealand's high living standards provide a potentially compelling case for attracting international talent to our shores,'' Ms Harley said.

Mayor Len Brown said the ranking showed Auckland was on track to become the world's most liveable city.

"Moving up on the scale is no small feat and I look forward to one day celebrating our place at the top of that list.

"International indicators like this give us a global profile and are proof of what Aucklanders already know: this is a fantastic city to live in.''

Yesterday Mr Brown released the results of the first annual scorecard for Auckland's liveability, divided into four categories _ communities, transport, economic and the environment.

It showed the index had lifted by 2.4 percentage points from a base index of 100 since the creation of the Super City 12 months ago. Progress had been made in cleaning up graffiti, improving public transport, adult employment and income, but Auckland had slipped back on exports, gross domestic product per capita and housing affordability.