London is voted the best city in the world for quality of life, beating Paris and New York

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London has triumphed in a new study of the world's greatest cities, leaving close competitors Paris and New York in the dust.

Rated on a variety of factors including its culture, entertainment, infrastructure, health and general happiness; the results were determined by 5,200 well-educated, high net-worth adults from 16 countries around the world.

The poll, published last week, was conducted in December 2015, before Britain's shock Brexit verdict.

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London has triumphed in a new study on the world's greatest cities, rated on a variety of factors including its culture, entertainment, infrastructure, health and general happiness

Specifically questioned were 'elite' over 18s, described as 'senior business decision makers or well-educated, high-income consumers who typically stay up to date with world events'.

London was lauded in the report, put together by consultancy firm PwC, as being a 'dynamic city' with a well-developed infrastructure, legal system and health service, compared to others.

Paris was the runner up, scoring top with regards to cultural influence, including attractions and cultural trendsetting, and was in the top-three-ranked cities in terms of entertainment and cuisine.

New York, which came third, was viewed overall as the 'leader' for its economic influence and ability to provide easy access to capital. 

Paris (left) came second, praised for its cultural influence, while New York (right) came third and was lauded as being a 'leader' in terms of its economy 

Its other high-scoring attributes were entertainment, trend-setting, and having a well-developed physical and technological infrastructure. Its perceptual weaknesses, however, included its pricy cost of living and traffic congestion.

As well as quizzing people on their perceptions on major global cities, a separate study was also undertaken to examine actual quantifiable factors.

This aimed to look at whether popular cities lived up to their high-held reputations.  

London topped that list as well, but Paris and New York were instead followed by Singapore and Toronto respectively. 

Lagos, in Nigeria, was rated at the bottom of both lists; with Jakarta, Mumbai and Bogotá also scoring poorly.