EuroCost International published its cost of living ranking report. The study is based on expat living costs in the biggest and most popular global cities.
There are almost no changes in the first three positions on the list since the last year. Tokyo (Japan) continues to be the priciest cities for expats. Right after it comes Angola’s capital Luanda. This year, it has managed to push Moscow down on the list. The capital of Russia is no longer the second most expensive expat city. Now it has dropped with one position to number 3.
However, the remaining list doesn’t look much like last year’s. In parts, this is because of the inflation differential between the different countries and the fluctuations of the exchange rate. These two factors pushed cities from the Eurozone out of the top 30. This year, cities like Helsinki, Paris and Amsterdam are no where to be seen among the first spots on the chart.
Swiss cities are also down. Geneva is now 9th (prev. 4th), while Zurich is way back on the 17th position (prev. 7th). Other Swiss cities that have similar fates are Lausanne which fell with 11 positions to 21, as well as Bern which no longer 14th but 29th. That can be explained with the depreciation of the Swiss franc.
The currency of Brazil also went through some ups and downs, leaving Sao Paulo on the 18th and Rio de Janeiro on the 19th spots. In comparison, last year, these two cities were both in the top ten.
Interestingly, two Australian cities also found their place among the priciest cities for expats. Sydney occupies the 7th place, while Canberra moved to the 12th spot.
The other cities which are in this year’s top ten are Singapore which is now 4th (prev. 5th) and Hong Kong which made a big jump from the 13th to the 6th spot. Congo’s capital Kinshasa, which was previously 20th on the list, has now moved to number 10.
In addition, there is one brand new edition to this year’s list of most expensive expat cities – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
