The two Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Cairo were ranked among the top 10 African cities for quality of life in a recent survey published Tuesday.

The Moroccan city of Marrakesh topped the list while South Africa's economic capital Johannesburg came second in the study that examined 100 cities on the continent, including the most populated and all capitals.

Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria was ranked third while the capital Cairo scored seventh in the study by the Swiss research body Communaute d'Etudes pour l'Amenagement du Territoire at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

The survey studied seven categories, including society, housing, spatial development, infrastructure, environment, governance and economy.

The Mauritius capital Port Louis came fourth, while Tunis was sixth.

Three other Moroccan cities — Casablanca (5th), Rabat (8th) and Fez (10th) — were among the top 10 while south Africa's Cape Town scored ninth.

EPFL says it plans to carry out the study every year with the aim of standardising data on African cities.