The new cost of living survey of 2019 is out and according to the list Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive city for expats to live in, for the second consecutive year.
According to the Mercer survey, the city that made to the second position is Tokyo, Japan, followed by Singapore, Seoul in South Korea, Zurich in Switzerland, Shanghai in China, Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, Beijing in China, New York in USA and Shenzhen in China.
Four out of the top 10 cities are from China. While many cities from Europe did feature on the list, the top 10 were dominated by Asian cities.
8 of the top 10 cities in the list are from Asia, up from 6 entries in 2018.
Metro cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai too featured on the list. While Mumbai is India’s costliest city; coming in at number 67, New Delhi came in at the 118th position, Bengaluru at 179, Kolkata at 189 and Chennai came in at 154th spot.
Mumbai fell down 12 positions and Delhi too lost 15 spots compared to last year’s list, which means amenities have become more affordable in the citites comparitively.
The least expensive city in the world for expats is Tunis in Tunisia and it was preceded by Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent and Karachi in Pakistan, according to the survey.
The city which made the biggest jump, however, is Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital, which leapt 36 spots to seventh place.
Read the full list here:
1 Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
2 Tokyo, Japan
3 Singapore, Singapore
4 Seoul, South Korea
5 Zurich, Switzerland
6 Shanghai, China
7 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
8 Beijing, China
9 New York City, U.S.
10 Shenzhen, China
11 N’Djamena, Chad
12 Bern, Switzerland
13 Geneva, Switzerland
14 Victoria, Seychelles
15 Tel Aviv, Israel
16 San Francisco, U.S.
17 Guangzhou, China
18 Los Angeles, U.S.
19 Osaka, Japan
20 Copenhagen, Denmark
21 Dubai, U.A.E
22 Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of the Congo
23 London, U.K.
24 Libreville, Gabon
25 Lagos, Nigeria
26 Luanda, Angola
27 Moscow, Russia
27 Nanjing, China
29 Noumea, New Caledonia
30 Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
30 Chengdu, China
32 Tianjin, China
33 Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
33 Nagoya, Japan
35 Taipei, Taiwan
35 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
37 Chicago, U.S.
38 Honolulu, U.S.
39 Brazzaville, Congo
40 Bangkok, Thailand
41 Qingdao, China
42 Washington, U.S.
43 Dublin, Ireland
44 Miami, U.S.
45 Milan, Italy
45 Shenyang, China
47 Paris, France
47 Dhaka, Bangladesh
49 Boston, U.S.
50 Sydney, Australia
51 Vienna, Austria
52 Yaounde, Cameroon
53 Beirut, Lebanon
54 Bangui, Central African Republic
55 Rome, Italy
56 White Plains, U.S.
57 Manama, Bahrain
58 Amsterdam, Netherlands
59 Djibouti, Djibouti
59 Houston, U.S.
61 Oslo, Norway
62 Dallas, U.S.
63 Accra, Ghana
64 Seattle, U.S.
65 Helsinki, Finland
66 Douala, Cameroon
67 Mumbai, India
67 Munich, Germany
69 Atlanta, U.S.
70 Montevideo, Uruguay
70 Morristown, U.S.
72 Dakar, Senegal
72 San Juan, Puerto Rico
74 Frankfurt, Germany
75 St. Petersburg, Russia
75 Amman, Jordan
77 Brussels, Belgium
78 Minneapolis, U.S.
79 Melbourne, Australia
79 Santiago, Chile
81 Berlin, Germany
82 Madrid, Spain
83 Port Of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
84 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
85 Abuja, Nigeria
86 Sao Paulo, Brazil
87 Perth, Australia
88 Conakry, Guinea
89 Auckland, New Zealand
90 Detroit, U.S.
91 Barcelona, Spain
92 Dusseldorf, Germany
93 Panama City, Panama
94 St. Louis, U.S.
95 Lisbon, Portugal
96 Canberra, Australia
97 Prague, Czech Republic
97 Nairobi, Kenya
97 Pittsburgh, U.S.
100 Hamburg, Germany
100 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
102 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
103 Brisbane, Australia
103 Muscat, Oman
105 Jakarta, Indonesia
106 Cleveland, U.S.
107 Portland, U.S.
108 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
109 Adelaide, Australia
109 Manila, Philippines
111 Riga, Latvia
112 Vancouver, Canada
112 Hanoi, Vietnam
114 Wellington, New Zealand
115 Toronto, Canada
115 Doha, Qatar
117 Yangon, Myanmar
118 New Delhi, India
119 Kuwait City, Kuwait
120 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
121 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
121 Lima, Peru
123 Lyon, France
124 Bamako, Mali
125 Pointe A Pitre, Guadeloupe
126 Stuttgart, Germany
127 Stockholm, Sweden
128 Cotonou, Benin
128 Athens, Greece
128 Casablanca, Morocco
131 Bratislava, Slovakia
131 San Jose, Costa Rica
133 Buenos Aires, Argentina
133 Havana, Cuba
135 Birmingham, U.K.
136 Guatemala City, Guatemala
137 Aberdeen, U.K.
138 Winston Salem, U.S.
139 Montreal, Canada
140 Tallinn, Estonia
141 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
142 Ljubljana, Slovenia
143 Zagreb, Croatia
144 Mexico City, Mexico
145 Lome, Togo
145 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
145 Glasgow, U.K.
148 Quito, Ecuador
149 Niamey, Niger
150 Kiev, Ukraine
151 Nuremberg, Germany
152 Vilnius, Lithuania
153 Calgary, Canada
154 Chennai, India
154 Istanbul, Turkey
156 Leipzig, Germany
157 Kingston, Jamaica
158 Belfast, U.K.
159 Maputo, Mozambique
160 Rabat, Morocco
161 Limassol, Cyprus
161 Ottawa, Canada
161 Port Louis, Mauritius
164 Budapest, Hungary
165 Port Au Prince, Haiti
166 Tirana, Albania
166 San Salvador, El Salvador
166 Cairo, Egypt
169 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
170 Bogota, Colombia
171 Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
171 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
173 Warsaw, Poland
174 Brasilia, Brazil
175 Kigali, Rwanda
176 Bucharest, Romania
177 Sofia, Bulgaria
178 Baku, Azerbaijan
179 Bengaluru, India
180 Cape Town, South Africa
181 Belgrade, Serbia
182 Colombo, Sri Lanka
183 Kampala, Uganda
184 Algiers, Algeria
185 Johannesburg, South Africa
186 Asuncion, Paraguay
187 Monterrey, Mexico
188 Harare, Zimbabwe
189 Kolkata, India
189 Gaborone, Botswana
191 Almaty, Kazakhstan
192 Nouakchott, Mauritania
193 Blantyre, Malawi
194 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
195 La Paz, Bolivia
196 Lusaka, Zambia
197 Yerevan, Armenia
198 Minsk, Belarus
199 Tegucigalpa, Honduras
200 Managua, Nicaragua
201 Skopje, Macedonia
202 Tbilisi, Georgia
203 Islamabad, Pakistan
204 Windhoek, Namibia
204 Banjul, Gambia
206 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
207 Karachi, Pakistan
208 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
209 Tunis, Tunisia
The rankings are calculated by looking at 209 cities around the world and measuring the cost of more than 200 items in each location.
This includes housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
