Dublin has risen five places to 22nd in an annual index which tracks the perceptions of cities around the world.

The Irish capital's scores on social progressiveness and economic and environmental policies improved, the city is also seen as having a favourable environment to do business in.

It finished ahead of Amsterdam (23rd), San Francisco (24th), Berlin (25th), Toronto (26th) and New York (31st) - while Paris, London, Edinburgh and Barcelona all ranked higher.

The City Reptrak index is topped by Sydney and Melbourne, while Moscow, Tehran and Baghdad prop up the list. The study is based on the responses of 19,000 people from G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and the United States).

Dublin's highest score came in the aesthetic category, as the city was described as "beautiful."

Its poorest score was in the sub-index in which respondents were asked if the city is, "run by well-respected leaders."

Commenting on the report Niamh Boyle from the reputation agency said, "The study highlights the key drivers of a good reputation and also confirms the link between city reputations and positive economic outcomes.

“While Dublin achieved strong scores in being seen to have an appealing environment such as ‘beautiful city’ and ‘offers a wide range of appealing experiences’, it performed only moderately [between 60-70 points] in the more economic and government-based attributes such as ‘is run by well-respected leaders, is technologically advanced and is financially stable’,” she added.