The best...

1=: Melbourne, Vancouver 3: Perth 4=: Geneva, Toronto, Vienna, Zurich 8=: Adelaide, Brisbane, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Oslo, Montreal Source: EIU

The cities came top of 130 surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the level of hardship they pose to expatriates.

And Australian cities overall scored particularly highly in the survey, with all five the country's urban centres surveyed ranked near the top of the table.

Europe was also well represented among the top 10 places.

The top US city, Honolulu, ranked 21st, with Boston, at 28th, the highest ranked city on the US mainland. Canada, in contrast, sneaked three cities into the top ten.

The UK cities of London, 44th, and Manchester, 50th, gained only a mid-table rating, with Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea bottom of the list.

Australia shines

The EIU's study gave each city a 'hardship rating' based on a number of factors including health and safety, culture and environment, and infrastructure.

...and the worst

130: Port Moresby 129: Karachi 127=: Dhaka, Lagos 126: Phnom Penh 125: Algiers 124: Mumbai 123: Abidjan 122: Dakar 121: New Delhi Source: EIU

Among US cities, Honolulu's rating was boosted by its "favourable climate, good housing stock, low risk of crime and the widespread availability of recreational activities", the EIU said.

Washington, at 57th, was dragged down by the "increased threat of terrorism".

In Europe, the EIU identified a divide between cities in the west and east of the continent.

Many EU cities were rated highly, while the highest hardship rating in Europe was seen in Belgrade in Yugoslavia - mainly due to the legacy of the war.

"Non-EU cities, particularly in central and eastern Europe, where infrastructure is poorer and health risks tend to be greater, drag the European average down slightly," Friday's report said.

The EIU found that cities in the Middle East and Africa generally rated poorly, with special factors boosting individual cities.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi both fared better than other places in the region due to the high standard of accommodation within expatriate compounds in the United Arab Emirates.

The city which came out the worst in the survey was Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

The EIU said expatriates in the city needed to take "extreme security precautions both personally and with their property".

"Education and health indicators are poor, corruption is rife and high humidity makes the climate oppressive all year round."