Reuters
A woman looks out from her stall selling traditional garments and textiles at a market in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
Every year, Mercer, one of the world's largest HR consultancy firms, releases its Quality of Living Index, which looks at the cities that provide the best quality of life.
Business Insider has already looked at the 27 cities with the best quality of life and also the 17 European cities that are deemed the most unsafe.
Now we take a look at what cities are ranked as providing the worst quality of life.
The ranking is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and is carried out annually to help multinational companies and other employers compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments, according to Mercer.
Looking at 450 cities across the world, Mercer takes into account the following metrics to judge which cities made the list for the best quality of life - which therefore shows what it feels are the best and worst:
- Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement)
- Economic environment (currency-exchange regulations, banking services)
- Socio-cultural environment (media availability and censorship, limitations on personal freedom)
- Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution)
- Schools and education (standards and availability of international schools)
- Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transportation, traffic congestion)
- Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure)
- Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars)
- Housing (rental housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services)
- Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)
Mercer made a list of 230 countries, and Business Insider took a look at the bottom 27 in the world: