Ranked: most expensive cities for expats

The world’s most expensive cities for expats have been re-assessed with six of the top 10 located in Asia

Mercer, the world’s largest human resources consulting firm, has released its annual Cost of Living Survey, now in its 26th year.

With over 400 cities included, Mercer’s annual report is one of the most influential and comprehensive of its kind. The study helps multinational companies and governments design expatriate compensation packages for their employees and manage international assignment costs.

According to Mercer, Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is the most expensive cities for expats, with Hong Kong in second place.

Beirut in Lebanon is in third place, climbing an astonishing 42 places from last year as fallout from several years of political turmoil.

The world’s least expensive cities for international employees are Tbilisi in Georgia, Lusaka in Zambia and Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. 

“Cost of living has always been a factor for international mobility planning, but the pandemic has added a whole new layer of complexity, as well as long-term implications related to health and safety of employees, remote working and flexibility policies, among other considerations. As organizations rethink their talent and mobility strategies, accurate and transparent data is essential to compensate employees fairly for all types of assignments.”

Ilya Bonic, Career President & Head of Mercer Strategy

The latest analysis reveals that the global pandemic has widely affected consumer buying habits throughout the world’s expatriate communities.

Particular commodities such as “comfort food,” cleaning supplies and home entertainment have seen an increase in demand.

Comparing the cost of living

It is important to remember that the ranking is not designed for locals. It is designed for multinational companies looking to place expat employees and is used as a tool to calculate how much overseas workers should be paid.

It also provides an indication to potential expats looking to determine how expensive their new country could be to live in.

Mercer uses New York as its base city and the US dollar as the base currency. The results differ from other surveys such as the Economist’s Worldwide Cost of Living as Mercer focuses specifically on products bought by expats.

If you’re a hiring manager looking to send an analyst to Kuala Lumpur, you need to know how much it costs to live there so you are compensating that worker fairly. It’s easier to consult a ready-made list than to do your own research on the ground. Most companies who use these lists are placing highly-skilled professionals or managers who are likely to earn more than the average local salary. 

Bryan Lufkin, BBC Capital

The survey analyses the price of goods and services in over 400 cities with substantial expat communities across the globe.

The index reflects the prices of over 200 items from the following categories:

• Housing
• Transportation
• Utilities
• Food
• Domestic supplies
• Home services
• Personal care
• Clothing and footwear
• Recreation and entertainment
• Alcohol and tobacco

The methodology assumes spending patterns among expats from different nationalities remain the same.

The weighting of goods and services are the same for all locations. The approach compares prices of comparable brands and retail outlets in both the home and host cities.

A drawback with this methodology is that certain factors can skew a city’s rating. For example, the high cost of car ownership and fuel in Singapore could propel it further up the rankings.

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Region by region

Six Asian cities, three European and one Middle Eastern city make up the 10 most expensive locations.

Most expensive Asian cities

1. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
2. Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
3. Tokyo, Japan
4. Shanghai, China
5. Singapore, Singapore
6. Beijing, China
7. Seoul, South Korea
8. Shenzhen, China
9. Guangzhou, China
10. Taipei, Taiwan

MOST EXPENSIVE European CITIES

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Geneva, Switzerland
3. Bern, Switzerland
4. Copenhagen, Denmark
5. London, UK
6. Paris, France
7. Milan, Italy
8. Vienna, Austria
9. Dublin, Ireland
10. Amsterdam, Netherlands

MOST EXPENSIVe African CITIES

1. N’Djamena, Chad
2. Lagos, Nigeria
3. Libreville, Gabon
4. Abidjan, Cóte d’Ivoire
5. Bangui, Central African Republic
6. Brazzaville, Congo
7. Kinshasa, DR Congo
8. Yaounde, Cameroon
9. Dakar, Senegal
10. Douala, Cameroon

Most expensive cities in the Americas

World’s most expensive cities for expats ranking

Sort the table below by cost of living or country to view the world’s most expensive cities for expats.

2021	2020	City	Change
1	2	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan	1
2	1	Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)	-1
3	45	Beirut, Lebanon	42
4	3	Tokyo, Japan	-1
5	4	Zurich, Switzerland	-1
6	7	Shanghai, China	1
7	5	Singapore, Singapore	-2
8	9	Geneva, Switzerland	1
9	10	Beijing, China	1
10	8	Bern, Switzerland	-2
11	11	Seoul, South Korea	0
12	13	Shenzhen, China	1
13	15	N'Djamena, Chad	2
14	6	New York, USA	-8
15	12	Tel Aviv, Israel	-3
16	25	Copenhagen, Denmark	9
17	20	Guangzhou, China	3
18	19	London, UK	1
19	18	Lagos, Nigeria	-1
20	33	Libreville, Gabon	13
20	17	Los Angeles, USA	-3
22	28	Taipei, Taiwan	6
23	22	Osaka, Japan	-1
24	36	Abidjan, Cóte d'Ivoire	12
25	16	San Francisco, USA	-9
26	38	Tianjin, China	12
27	34	Nanjing, China	7
28	40	Chengdu, China	12
29	31	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	2
30	49	Bangui, Central African Rep.	19
31	66	Sydney, Australia	35
32	42	Nouméa, New Caledonia	10
33	50	Paris, France	17
34	43	Qingdao, China	9
34	26	Nagoya, Japan	-8
36	47	Milan, Italy	11
37	54	Vienna, Austria	17
38	44	Brazzaville, Congo	6
39	46	Dublin, Ireland	7
40	26	Dhaka, Bangladesh	-14
41	24	Kinshasa, DR Congo	-17
42	23	Dubai, UAE	-19
43	28	Honolulu, USA	-15
44	64	Amsterdam, Netherlands	20
45	30	Chicago, USA	-15
46	35	Bangkok, Thailand	-11
47	65	Rome, Italy	18
48	37	Miami, USA	-11
49	56	Yaoundé, Cameroon	7
50	41	Boston, USA	-9
51	32	Washington, USA	-19
52	72	Munich, Germany	20
53	78	Brussels, Belgium	25
54	76	Frankfurt, Germany	22
55	76	Oslo, Norway	21
56	74	Helsinki, Finland	18
56	39	Abu Dhabi, UAE	-17
56	75	Dakar, Senegal	19
59	99	Melbourne, Australia	40
60	82	Berlin, Germany	22
61	63	Shenyang, China	2
62	21	Moscow, Russia	-41
63	104	Perth, Australia	Al
63	83	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	20
65	48	White Plains, USA	-17
66	70	Douala, Cameroon	4
67	87	Madrid, Spain	20
67	55	Seattle, USA	-12
69	52	Dallas, USA	-17
70	103	Auckland, New Zealand	33
71	52	Manama, Bahrain	-19
72	133	Stockholm, Sweden	61
72	60	Atlanta, USA	-12
74	100	Dusseldorf, Germany	26
75	62	Morristown, USA	-13
75	51	Houston, USA	-24
75	118	Canberra, Australia	43
78	60	Mumbai, India	-18
78	80	Manila, Philippines	2
80	106	Hamburg, Germany	26
81	126	Brisbane, Australia	45
82	58	Djibouti, Djibouti	-24
83	106	Lisbon, Portugal	23
84	102	Barcelona, Spain	18
85	68	Abuja, Nigeria	-17
86	69	Minneapolis, USA	-17
87	57	Accra, Ghana	-30
88	126	Adelaide, Australia	38
89	66	San Juan, Puerto Rico	-23
90	97	Prague, Czech Rep.	7
91	73	Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tob.	-18
92	175	Port-au-Prince, Haiti	83
93	94	Vancouver, Canada	1
94	123	Wellington, New Zealand	29
94	71	Amman, Jordan	-23
94	104	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	10
97	113	Riga, Latvia	16
98	98	Toronto, Canada	0
99	116	Niamey, Niger	17
100	123	Lyon, France	23
101	80	Detroit, USA	-21
102	130	Stuttgart, Germany	28
103	83	St. Louis, USA	-20
104	83	Yangon, Myanmar	-21
104	86	Jakarta, Indonesia	-18
106	92	Portland, USA	-14
107	134	Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe	27
108	134	Santiago, Chile	26
108	96	Muscat, Oman	-12
110	91	Pittsburgh, USA	-19
110	139	Bratislava, Slovakia	29
112	93	Cleveland, USA	-19
113	140	Cotonou, Benin	27
114	121	Casablanca, Morocco	7
115	138	Athens, Greece	23
115	113	Kuwait City, Kuwait	-2
117	101	New Delhi, India	-16
117	90	Panama City, Panama	-27
119	89	Conakry, Guinea	-30
119	59	St. Petersburg, Russia	-60
121	129	Birmingham, UK	8
122	118	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	-4
123	115	Luanda, Angola	-8
124	78	San Jose, Costa Rica	-46
125	109	Phnom Penh, Cambodia	-16
126	142	Bamako, Mali	16
126	148	Ljubljana, Slovenia	22
128	134	Aberdeen, UK	6
129	137	Montreal, Canada	8
130	109	Doha, Qatar	-21
131	141	Glasgow, UK	10
132	88	Montevideo, Uruguay	-44
132	146	Tallinn, Estonia	14
134	155	Nuremberg, Germany	21
134	123	Havana, Cuba	-11
136	154	Lome, Togo	18
137	126	Cairo, Egypt	-11
138	158	Leipzig, Germany	20
139	116	Hanoi, Vietnam	-23
140	152	Zagreb, Croatia	12
141	122	Guatemala City, Guatemala	-19
141	165	Harare, Zimbabwe	24
143	111	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	-32
143	157	Vilnius, Lithuania	14
145	162	Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso	17
145	95	Nairobi, Kenya	-50
145	146	Calgary, Canada	1
148	149	Belfast, UK	1
149	106	Kiev, Ukraine	-43
150	112	Lima, Peru	-38
151	132	Winston Salem, USA	-19
152	120	Mexico City, Mexico	-32
152	163	Tirana, Albania	11
152	144	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	-8
152	159	Rabat, Morocco	7
156	151	Ottawa, Canada	5
156	166	Limassol, Cyprus	10
158	143	Chennai, India	-15
159	14	Victoria, Seychelles	-145
160	174	Bucharest, Romania	14
161	145	Quito, Ecuador	-16
162	170	Budapest, Hungary	8
163	183	Belgrade, Serbia	20
164	169	Warsaw, Poland	5
165	150	Kingston, Jamaica	-15
165	180	Sofia, Bulgaria	15
167	163	Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania	-4
168	153	Buenos Aires, Argentina	-15
169	168	San Salvador, El Salvador	-1
170	171	Bengaluru, India	1
171	177	Kampala, Uganda	6
172	172	Baku, Azerbaijan	0
173	156	Istanbul, Turkey	-17
173	167	Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep.	-6
175	176	Kigali, Rwanda	1
176	184	Nouakchott, Mauritania	8
177	130	Sao Paulo, Brazil	-47
178	187	Cape Town, South Africa	9
179	161	Maputo, Mozambique	-18
180	181	Bogota, Colombia	1
181	185	Kolkata, India	4
182	173	Port Louis, Mauritius	-9
183	177	Monterrey, Mexico	-6
184	192	Johannesburg, South Africa	8
185	177	Colombo, Sri Lanka	-8
186	197	Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herz.	11
187	188	Asuncion, Paraguay	1
188	196	Tegucigalpa, Honduras	8
189	193	La Paz, Bolivia	4
190	185	Blantyre, Malawi	5
191	160	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	-31
192	202	Skopje, North Macedonia	10
193	189	Almaty, Kazakhstan	-4
194	182	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	-12
195	191	Yerevan, Armenia	-4
196	198	Managua, Nicaragua	2
197	194	Minsk, Belarus	-3
198	194	Algiers, Algeria	-4
199	200	Islamabad, Pakistan	1
200	204	Banjul, Gambia	4
201	205	Karachi, Pakistan	4
202	199	Gaborone, Botswana	-3
203	206	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	3
204	208	Windhoek, Namibia	4
205	190	Brasilia, Brazil	-15
206	209	Tunis, Tunisia	3
207	203	Tbilisi, Georgia	-4
208	201	Lusaka, Zambia	-7
209	206	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan	-3

You can download Mercer’s complete Cost of Living Survey here.

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