African cities ranked most expensive for expats
Photo: mp3ief
The two African cities may not immediately spring to mind when asked to name the world's priciest places. New York, Hong Kong, Paris and London are more likely to make the top spots on your list. Nonetheless, Luanda in Angola has been ranked the most expensive city in the world for the second year in a row by Mercer.
The authoritative survey, which is designed to help corporations and govermments in managing expat employees, covers 211 cities across five continents. Comparing every city to its base sample, New York, it compares costs of everything from housing and transportation to clothing and entertainment.
Currency fluctuations and the impact of inflation on goods and services are the major factors in boosting Luanda and N'Djamena's costs, explains Mercer.
"Rankings in many regions were affected by recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, which resulted in currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices," says Ed Hannibal, Partner and Global Leader for Mercer’s Mobility practice.
"While Luanda and N’Djamena are relatively inexpensive cities, they are quite costly for expatriates since imported goods come at a premium. In addition, finding secure living accommodations that meet the standards of expatriates can be challenging and quite costly as well. This is generally why some African cities rank high in our survey."
It is only then that more familiar locations enter the charts, eith European and Asian dominating the top 10. Hong Kong is in third place, followed by Singapore. Zurch jumped three places to rank fifth, followed by Geneva in sixth. Tokyo dropped four spots to rank seventh.
Karachi, ranked 211, is the world’s least expensive city for expatriates, costing less than a third than Luanda.
Nathalie Constantin-Métral, Principal at Mercer with responsibility for compiling the survey ranking, added: "Interestingly, several cities jumped up the list this year following large increases in both accommodation cost and demand, coupled with strong local currencies. Dhaka and Nairobi (both 117) and Dubai (67) soared thirty seven, thirty and twenty-three spots, respectively."
Indeed, the US dollar's recovery in the past year has also helped American cities to climb the chart when compared to other, weaker currencies. A rise in the rental accommodation market pushed New York up 8 places to rank 16, the highest-ranked city in the region. Los Angeles (62) climbed 10 places from last year while San Francisco (74) jumped eighteen places.
In South America, São Paolo (49) ranked as the costliest city, followed by Rio de Janeiro (65). while both have been in the spotlight thanks to the 2014 World Cup, though, both cities dropped thirty and thirty-six positions respectively, as a result of the Brazilian real weakening against the US dollar.
The UK's strong economic growth helped Glasgow (108) to rise 49 places from 2013, while Aberdeen (94) and Birmingham (90) jumped 34 and 45 spots respectively.