Luanda is priciest posting for expats
By Paul Casciato |
July 1, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE capital of oil-rich but poverty-stricken Angola is the world's most expensive city for expatriates, according to a new cost of living survey that also showed other developing African and Asian cities as among the priciest in the world.
Luanda knocked the Japanese capital Tokyo off the top of this year's Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.
Tokyo, regularly rated as one of the world's most expensive cities, was in the second slot while Ndjamena, the capital of impoverished, violence-ridden Chad, came in third.
Shanghai ranked 25th and Beijing 16th on the most-expensive list. Two other Chinese mainland cities ranked in the top 50: Guangzhou (38) and Shenzhen (42). China's Hong Kong tied with Zurich at eighth.
The survey, which covers 214 cities across five continents, said developing cities were actually more expensive for expats to live in than Western cities such as New York or Washington D.C.
"Many people assume that cities in the developing world are cheap but this isn't necessarily true for expatriates working there," Mercer senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metral said in a statement.
"In some African cities, the cost of this can be extraordinarily high, particularly the cost of good, secure accommodation," she said.
Luanda, for example, is awash in cash from Angola's thriving oil production, pushing up hotel and luxury car prices, though little of it trickles to the populace, which remains one of the world's poorest.
The ranking is based on the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. New York is used as the base city for the index and currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
Asia's cities are among the world's most expensive for expat postings: besides Tokyo and Hong Kong, Osaka came in at sixth.
Oslo at 11, Milan at 15, and London and Paris, both at 17, were the most expensive cities in Europe. Least expensive: Tirana in Albania.
Tel Aviv (19) was the most expensive city in the Middle East, followed by Abu Dhabi (50) and Dubai (55). Tripoli (186) in Libya was the least expensive Middle Eastern location.
"Accommodation costs have continued to decrease in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, driving down the cost of living for expats," Constantin-Metral said.
Brazil's commercial capital Sao Paulo (21) was the most expensive city in all of the Americas, a result of the strengthening of the currency against the dollar.
In the United States, New York (27) was the most expensive city, followed by Los Angeles (55). Washington, D.C., was ranked 111th. The least expensive US city was Winston-Salem in North Carolina (197).
"The weakening of the US dollar against a number of other currencies, combined with a decrease in the cost of rental accommodation, has pulled US cities down the rankings," Constantin-Metral said.
And the world's least expensive city for expats?
The Mercer survey gave the nod to Karachi in Pakistan.
Luanda knocked the Japanese capital Tokyo off the top of this year's Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.
Tokyo, regularly rated as one of the world's most expensive cities, was in the second slot while Ndjamena, the capital of impoverished, violence-ridden Chad, came in third.
Shanghai ranked 25th and Beijing 16th on the most-expensive list. Two other Chinese mainland cities ranked in the top 50: Guangzhou (38) and Shenzhen (42). China's Hong Kong tied with Zurich at eighth.
The survey, which covers 214 cities across five continents, said developing cities were actually more expensive for expats to live in than Western cities such as New York or Washington D.C.
"Many people assume that cities in the developing world are cheap but this isn't necessarily true for expatriates working there," Mercer senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metral said in a statement.
"In some African cities, the cost of this can be extraordinarily high, particularly the cost of good, secure accommodation," she said.
Luanda, for example, is awash in cash from Angola's thriving oil production, pushing up hotel and luxury car prices, though little of it trickles to the populace, which remains one of the world's poorest.
The ranking is based on the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. New York is used as the base city for the index and currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
Asia's cities are among the world's most expensive for expat postings: besides Tokyo and Hong Kong, Osaka came in at sixth.
Oslo at 11, Milan at 15, and London and Paris, both at 17, were the most expensive cities in Europe. Least expensive: Tirana in Albania.
Tel Aviv (19) was the most expensive city in the Middle East, followed by Abu Dhabi (50) and Dubai (55). Tripoli (186) in Libya was the least expensive Middle Eastern location.
"Accommodation costs have continued to decrease in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, driving down the cost of living for expats," Constantin-Metral said.
Brazil's commercial capital Sao Paulo (21) was the most expensive city in all of the Americas, a result of the strengthening of the currency against the dollar.
In the United States, New York (27) was the most expensive city, followed by Los Angeles (55). Washington, D.C., was ranked 111th. The least expensive US city was Winston-Salem in North Carolina (197).
"The weakening of the US dollar against a number of other currencies, combined with a decrease in the cost of rental accommodation, has pulled US cities down the rankings," Constantin-Metral said.
And the world's least expensive city for expats?
The Mercer survey gave the nod to Karachi in Pakistan.
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