Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive city to live in for expats (a person who temporarily or permanently resides in a country other than the country of origin). The city tops the list for the second year in a row. Higher prices, as well as a stronger currency are cited as the reason, according to Bloomberg.
New York and Geneva finished in second and third place in the ranking, while London came on fourth and Tokyo on the fifth, according to ECA International’s new study.
High rental costs are partly the reason why London and New York ended up among the top five most expensive cities, with rental prices rising by 20 and 12 percent respectively.
Singapore remained in 13th place despite significant increases in rents, petrol prices and goods. The weakening of the Singapore dollar contributed to that, according to the ECA.
Japanese cities all fell in line as the yen weakened, while Chinese cities rose Shanghai and Guangzhou in 8th and 9th place respectively – with a stronger yuan.
Copenhagen came in 18th place, against 14th place last year, which makes the city cheaper, while Oslo came in 19th place, same position as the year before.
The world’s 20 most expensive cities for expats (with the 2021 ranking in parentheses)
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- Hong Kong (2021 rating: 1)
- New York, USA (4)
- Geneva, Switzerland (3)
- London, United Kingdom (5)
- Tokyo, Japan (2)
- Tel Aviv, Israel (7)
- Zurich, Switzerland (6)
- Shanghai, Kina (9)
- Guangzhou, Kina (10)
- Seoul, South Korea (8)
- San Francisco, USA (15)
- Shenzhen, China (12)
- Singapore (13)
- Beijing, Kina (16)
- Jerusalem, Israel (18)
- Bern, Switzerland (17)
- Yokohama, Japan (11)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (14)
- Oslo, Norway (19)
- Taipei, Taiwan (21)
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Source: ECA International
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Here are several of the survey findings:
- Petrol prices rose by an average of 37 per cent compared with a year earlier in all cities, while Beirut registered an increase of 1,128 per cent.
- Turkey’s Ankara is the cheapest city in the world for expats, after falling five places to 207th place.
- The war in Ukraine contributed to cooking oil prices rising by an average of 25 percent last year across the cities in the rankings.
- Tehran’s fuel prices were the cheapest, with a liter of gasoline costing only $ 0.09.
- In Hong Kong, the price of a cup of coffee at 50 Norwegian kroner, a liter of petrol at 29 kroner and a kilo of tomatoes at 110 kroner was used as one of the arguments for why it is the most expensive city.
ECA International analyzes the costs of consumer goods and services in more than 490 locations around the world. Accommodation data and rental costs in areas that are usually inhabited by foreign employees are also considered. The latest report ranks 207 cities in 120 countries.
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