Ottawa kept its ranking as third-best city in the Americas in terms of quality of living, and was named second-best city in Canada in health and sanitation rankings, according to a report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Ottawa ranked 18th on the 2007 worldwide list of 50 best cities to live in with its index score of 104.8, tying with Luxembourg and coming in behind overall third-placed Vancouver and 15th-placed Toronto. Ottawa's score was unchanged from 2006's number.

Topping the list were Zurich and Geneva, with the biggest improvements being seen in Osaka, which rose eight places to 42nd place from 51st place, and Oslo, which jumped to 31st place from 26th place. Other Canadian cities to make the list were Montreal at 22nd place and Calgary at 24th place.

The report noted that there was "little significant movement" among the positions of the top 50 countries.

Meanwhile, Ottawa came in fourth overall on the list of top 50 cities for health and sanitation, while Calgary grabbed first place on that list, followed by Honolulu and Helsinki.

The quality of living index is based on several criteria used to judge whether an expatriate is entitled to a hardship allowance, meaning that a city with a high score is a safe and stable one to live in.

The rankings for the quality of living list are based on data collected between September and November 2006. They only take into account the conditions in 215 cities, with New York City serving as the base city with a score of 100.