The 2019 Mercer survey on the quality of living around the world ranked Beirut as the 184th most desirable city for overall living standards among 231 cities worldwide and in 14th place among 22 cities in the Arab world. Also, Beirut ranked in 48th place among 57 cities in upper middle-income countries (UMICs) included in the survey. In comparison, Beirut ranked in 181st place globally and in 14th place regionally in the 2018 survey. Based on the 221 cities that were included in both the 2010 and 2019 surveys, Beirut came in 174th place globally in 2019 and regressed by two spots from 172nd place in the 2010 survey. It was among 76 cities whose rank regressed, while the rankings of 117 cities improved and those of 28 cities were unchanged between 2010 and 2019.

The survey evaluates the cities on the basis of 39 key quality-of-living determinants grouped in 10 categories that consist of political, economic and socio-cultural factors, in addition to healthcare & sanitation, schools & education, public services & transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing, and the natural environment. 

On a global basis, the quality of living in Beirut is better than in Algiers, Nairobi in Kenya and Tbilisi in Georgia, and is less appealing than in Blantyre in Malawi, Cotonou in Benin and Maputo in Mozambique. Also, Beirut's quality of living is better than in Algiers, Minsk in Belarus and Havana in Cuba, and is less appealing than in  Russia's Saint Petersburg, Albania's capital Tirana and Almaty in Kazakhstan among UMICs. Vienna has the highest quality of living in the world and Dubai remains the city with the best living standards in the Arab world, while the survey considered Baghdad to be the world's least appealing city in terms of living conditions.