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In Mercer Human Resources' 2004 Overall Quality of Life Survey among 215 cities, Zurich and Geneva tie for 1st place, while Berne ranks 5th along with Auckland, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Sydney. (http://www.mercerhr.com).

According to the report, Geneva moved to 1st place, pushing Vancouver, BC, to 3rd largely because of its schools, where standards of education, both public and private, are now rated among the best in the world.

Mario Brossi, Senior Representative for Location: Switzerland, the country's Inward Investment Agency, said, "Quality of life and a strong educational system are among the many reasons why companies select Switzerland as a base for operations in Europe. Despite difficult economic circumstances in the global economy, 42 new or expanded North American investment projects landed in our country in 2003."

The Mercer study is based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life criteria including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.

Cities are ranked against New York as the base city, which has a rating of 100. The highest rated American cities are Honolulu and San Francisco at place number 24. 03/04