Cities in Asia most expensive locations for employees working abroad 

26 June 2019

New Zealand, Auckland

 

Mercer’s 25^thannual Cost of Living Survey finds cities in Asia most expensive locations for employees working abroad

 

Multinationals’ focus on mobility as a workforce strategy supports career growth and global competitiveness

 

 

 

• New Zealand and Australian cities continue to fall significantly in Cost of Living ranking due to currency fluctuations
• Auckland falls from 81 to 89, with Wellington falling 13 places to 114
• Hong Kong remains the world’s costliest city
   

 

 

Eight of the world’s top 10 most expensive cities are located in Asia as a result of the region’s high costs for consumer goods and a dynamic housing market, while cities in New Zealand continue to fall in the ranking, according to Mercer’s 25th annual 2019 Cost of Living Survey.

 

Hong Kong tops the list as the world’s costliest city for the second consecutive year with the local housing market increasingly out of reach for many. Other cities appearing in the top 10 are Tokyo (2), Singapore (3), Seoul (4), Zurich (5), Shanghai (6), Ashgabat (7), Beijing (8), New York City (9), and Shenzhen (10). 

 

Ashgabat in Turkmenistan saw the biggest rise in rankings, jumping an astonishing 36 places from 43^rdin 2018, as a result of the country’s shortage of currency and imported goods driving up prices.

 

As with all cities in the Pacific, Auckland (89) and Wellington (114) dropped eight and 13 places respectively. Australian cities fell between 19 and 26 places with Sydney the highest ranking Australian city at 50 (29 in 2018), followed by Melbourne at 79 place (58 in 2018). Noumea (29) was the highest ranking Pacific city.

 

Karla Costa, Mercer’s Global Mobility Leader for Pacific, said currency fluctuations were largely responsible for Australia and New Zealand’s drop in ranking.

 

“Australian cities were heavily impacted by the strengthening US dollar. New Zealand, however, was affected to a lesser extent with the local currency losing 6.5 per cent to the US dollar over the past year, in comparison to Australia’s nine per cent. New Zealand’s low price movement and the rise of other main cities in the ranking are also among the main drivers,” Ms Costa said.

 

“While the actual cost of living in the Pacific has not fallen, the exchange rate is a key factor when calculating expatriate packages. As a result, our major cities in both Australia and New Zealand are becoming increasingly attractive as locations for international businesses to send expatriates. This is great news for our local workforce which will benefit from a richer, more diversified talent pool. 

 

“On the other hand, currency fluctuations mean it has become more expensive for Australian and New Zealand-based businesses to send employees to many major international markets,” she said.

 

This year’s ranking includes 209 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment. 

 

Mercer's widely recognised survey is one of the world’s most comprehensive, and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. New York City is used as the base city for all comparisons, and currency movements are measured against the US dollar. 

 

In a rapidly changing world, mobility programs have become a core component of multinational organisations’ global talent strategy. Multinational organisations are carefully assessing the cost of expatriate packages for their international assignees, influenced by a number of factors, including currency fluctuations, cost of inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices.

 

“In a skill-focused economy driven by digital disruption and the need for a globally connected workforce, deploying expatriate employees is an increasingly important aspect of a competitive business strategy for global companies,”said Ilya Bonic, President of Mercer’s Career business. 

 

“There are numerous personal and organisational advantages for sending employees overseas, including career development, global experience, new skillsets, and re-allocation of resources. By offering fair and competitive compensation packages, organisations can facilitate moves that drive business results.”

 

 

 

Regional Breakdown

 

 

 

Asia Pacific

 

Eight of the top ten cities in this year’s ranking are in Asia due in part to a strong housing market. Hong Kong (1) remains the most expensive city for expatriates both in Asia and globally as a result of the housing market and currency being pegged to the US dollar, driving up the cost of living locally. This global financial centre is followed by Tokyo (2), Singapore (3), Seoul (4), Shanghai (6), and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (7). 

 

Mumbai (67) is India’s most expensive city, followed by New Delhi (118) and Chennai (154). Bengaluru (179) and Kolkata (189) are the least expensive Indian cities ranked. Elsewhere in Asia, Bangkok (40) jumped twelve places from last year. Hanoi (112) and Jakarta (105) also rose in the ranking, up twenty-five and twelve spots, respectively. Bishkek (206) and Tashkent (208) remain the region’s least expensive cities for expatriates.

 

Australian cities have continued to fall in the ranking due to the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar. Sydney (50), Australia’s most expensive ranked city for expatriates, dropped twenty-one places. Melbourne (79) and Perth (87) dropped twenty-one and twenty-six spots, respectively.  

 

 

 

The Americas

 

Cities in the United States climbed in the ranking due to the strength of the US dollar against other major currencies as well as the significant drop of cities in other regions. New York jumped four places to rank 9, the highest-ranked city in the region. San Francisco (16) and Los Angeles (18) climbed twelve and seventeen places, respectively, while Chicago (37) jumped fourteen places. Among other major US cities, Washington, DC (42) is up fourteen places, Miami (44) is up sixteen places and Boston (49) is up twenty-one spots. Portland (107) and Winston Salem, North Carolina (138) remain the least expensive US cities surveyed for expatriates. 

 

In South America, Montevideo, Uruguay (70) ranked as the costliest city followed by San Juan (72), which jumped twenty-three spots. Other cities in South America that climbed on the list of costliest cities for expatriates include Panama City (93), San Jose (131), and Havana (133) rising twenty-one, ten, and twenty-two spots, respectively. Cities that fell in the ranking despite price increases on goods and services and accommodation costs include Brazil and Argentina. In particular, São Paolo (86) dropped twenty-eight spots. Rio de Janeiro (121) dropped twenty-two places, while Buenos Aires (133) fell fifty-seven places. Managua (200) is the least expensive city in South America.

 

Although most Canadian cities remained stable in the ranking, the country’s highest-ranked city, Vancouver (112), dropped three places. Toronto (115) dropped six spots, while Montreal (139) climbed eight spots. Calgary (153) and Ottawa (161) remained stable. 

 

 

 

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

 

Only one European city is among the top ten list of most expensive cities, which is Zurich at number five, followed by Bern (12). Geneva (13) is down two places.Eastern and Central European cities, including Moscow (27), St. Petersburg (75), Prague (97), and Warsaw (173), dropped ten, twenty-six, fourteen, and nineteen spots, respectively. 

 

Cities in Western Europe, including Milan (45), Paris (47), Oslo (61), and Madrid (82), fell in the ranking as well, by twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and eighteen spots, respectively. The German city Stuttgart (126) dropped significantly as did Berlin (81) and Dusseldorf (92). Cities in the United Kingdom saw modest drops, including Birmingham (135), which fell seven places, Belfast (158) six spots, and London (23) four spots. 

 

“Despite moderate price increases in most of the European cities, European currencies have weakened against the US dollar, which pushed most cities down in the ranking,” said Yvonne Traber, Global Mobility Product Solutions Leader at Mercer. “Additionally, other factors like recent security issues and concern about the economic outlook, have impacted the region.”

 

Tel Aviv (15) continues to be the most expensive city in the Middle East for expatriates, followed by Dubai (21), Abu Dhabi (33), and Riyadh (35). Cairo (166) remains the least expensive city in the region. “Many currencies in the Middle East are pegged to the US dollar, which pushed cities up in the ranking, as well as steep increases for expatriate rental accommodations,” said Ms. Traber. 

 

Despite dropping from the top ten most expensive cities for expatriates, N’Djamena (11) remains the highest-ranking city in Africa. Following are Victoria (14) rising seven places, and Kinshasa (22) rising fifteen spots. Libreville (24) dropped six places. Dropping one spot, Tunis (209) in Tunisia ranks as the least expensive city in the region and globally.

 

 

 

Mercer Cost of Living Survey – Worldwide Rankings 2019 (Mercer international basket, including rental accommodation costs)
Rank as of March		City	Country/Region
2018	2019
1	1	HONG KONG	Hong Kong (SAR)
2	2	TOKYO	Japan
4	3	SINGAPORE	Singapore
5	4	SEOUL	South Korea
3	5	ZURICH	Switzerland
7	6	SHANGHAI	China
43	7	ASHGABAT	Turkmenistan
9	8	BEIJING	China
13	9	NEW YORK CITY	United States
12	10	SHENZHEN	China
8	11	NDJAMENA	Chad
10	12	BERN	Switzerland
11	13	GENEVA	Switzerland
21	14	VICTORIA	Seychelles
16	15	TEL AVIV	Israel
28	16	SAN FRANCISCO	United States
15	17	GUANGZHOU	China
35	18	LOS ANGELES	United States
23	19	OSAKA	Japan
14	20	COPENHAGEN	Denmark
26	21	DUBAI	United Arab Emirates
37	22	KINSHASA	Dem. Rep. of the Congo
19	23	LONDON	United Kingdom
18	24	LIBREVILLE	Gabon
42	25	LAGOS	Nigeria
6	26	LUANDA	Angola
17	27	MOSCOW	Russia
25	27	NANJING	China
22	29	NOUMEA	New Caledonia
24	30	ABIDJAN	Côte d'Ivoire
31	30	CHENGDU	China
29	32	TIANJIN	China
40	33	ABU DHABI	United Arab Emirates
41	33	NAGOYA	Japan
27	35	TAIPEI	Taiwan
45	35	RIYADH	Saudi Arabia
51	37	CHICAGO	United States
54	38	HONOLULU	United States
19	39	BRAZZAVILLE	Congo
52	40	BANGKOK	Thailand
36	41	QINGDAO	China
56	42	WASHINGTON	United States
32	43	DUBLIN	Ireland
60	44	MIAMI	United States
33	45	MILAN	Italy
38	45	SHENYANG	China
34	47	PARIS	France
66	47	DHAKA	Bangladesh
70	49	BOSTON	United States
29	50	SYDNEY	Australia
39	51	VIENNA	Austria
43	52	YAOUNDE	Cameroon
65	53	BEIRUT	Lebanon
48	54	BANGUI	Central African Republic
46	55	ROME	Italy
79	56	WHITE PLAINS	United States
77	57	MANAMA	Bahrain
50	58	AMSTERDAM	Netherlands
73	59	DJIBOUTI	Djibouti
86	59	HOUSTON	United States
47	61	OSLO	Norway
85	62	DALLAS	United States
63	63	ACCRA	Ghana
90	64	SEATTLE	United States
53	65	HELSINKI	Finland
73	66	DOUALA	Cameroon
55	67	MUMBAI	India
57	67	MUNICH	Germany
95	69	ATLANTA	United States
75	70	MONTEVIDEO	Uruguay
97	70	MORRISTOWN	United States
62	72	DAKAR	Senegal
95	72	SAN JUAN	Puerto Rico
68	74	FRANKFURT	Germany
49	75	ST. PETERSBURG	Russia
94	75	AMMAN	Jordan
67	77	BRUSSELS	Belgium
102	78	MINNEAPOLIS	United States
58	79	MELBOURNE	Australia
69	79	SANTIAGO	Chile
71	81	BERLIN	Germany
64	82	MADRID	Spain
97	83	PORT OF SPAIN	Trinidad & Tobago
71	84	LUXEMBOURG	Luxembourg
99	85	ABUJA	Nigeria
58	86	SAO PAULO	Brazil
61	87	PERTH	Australia
106	88	CONAKRY	Guinea
81	89	AUCKLAND	New Zealand
116	90	DETROIT	United States
79	91	BARCELONA	Spain
82	92	DUSSELDORF	Germany
114	93	PANAMA CITY	Panama
122	94	ST. LOUIS	United States
93	95	LISBON	Portugal
77	96	CANBERRA	Australia
83	97	PRAGUE	Czech Republic
123	97	NAIROBI	Kenya
125	97	PITTSBURGH	United States
88	100	HAMBURG	Germany
117	100	JEDDAH	Saudi Arabia
106	102	BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN	Brunei
84	103	BRISBANE	Australia
117	103	MUSCAT	Oman
117	105	JAKARTA	Indonesia
125	106	CLEVELAND	United States
130	107	PORTLAND	United States
142	108	PHNOM PENH	Cambodia
87	109	ADELAIDE	Australia
138	109	MANILA	Philippines
92	111	RIGA	Latvia
109	112	VANCOUVER	Canada
137	112	HANOI	Vietnam
101	114	WELLINGTON	New Zealand
109	115	TORONTO	Canada
115	115	DOHA	Qatar
91	117	YANGON	Myanmar
103	118	NEW DELHI	India
121	119	KUWAIT CITY	Kuwait
124	120	HO CHI MINH CITY	Vietnam
99	121	RIO DE JANEIRO	Brazil
132	121	LIMA	Peru
105	123	LYON	France
120	124	BAMAKO	Mali
104	125	POINTE A PITRE	Guadeloupe
108	126	STUTTGART	Germany
89	127	STOCKHOLM	Sweden
111	128	COTONOU	Benin
112	128	ATHENS	Greece
128	128	CASABLANCA	Morocco
113	131	BRATISLAVA	Slovakia
141	131	SAN JOSE	Costa Rica
76	133	BUENOS AIRES	Argentina
165	133	HAVANA	Cuba
128	135	BIRMINGHAM	United Kingdom
130	136	GUATEMALA CITY	Guatemala
134	137	ABERDEEN	United Kingdom
161	138	WINSTON SALEM	United States
147	139	MONTREAL	Canada
140	140	TALLINN	Estonia
145	141	KUALA LUMPUR	Malaysia
132	142	LJUBLJANA	Slovenia
138	143	ZAGREB	Croatia
157	144	MEXICO CITY	Mexico
134	145	LOME	Togo
134	145	OUAGADOUGOU	Burkina Faso
148	145	GLASGOW	United Kingdom
156	148	QUITO	Ecuador
143	149	NIAMEY	Niger
173	150	KIEV	Ukraine
145	151	NUREMBERG	Germany
148	152	VILNIUS	Lithuania
154	153	CALGARY	Canada
144	154	CHENNAI	India
163	154	ISTANBUL	Turkey
150	156	LEIPZIG	Germany
164	157	KINGSTON	Jamaica
152	158	BELFAST	United Kingdom
179	159	MAPUTO	Mozambique
165	160	RABAT	Morocco
153	161	LIMASSOL	Cyprus
160	161	OTTAWA	Canada
161	161	PORT LOUIS	Mauritius
151	164	BUDAPEST	Hungary
125	165	PORT AU PRINCE	Haiti
172	166	TIRANA	Albania
174	166	SAN SALVADOR	El Salvador
188	166	CAIRO	Egypt
178	169	SANTO DOMINGO	Dominican Republic
168	170	BOGOTA	Colombia
180	171	DAR ES SALAAM	Tanzania
183	171	ADDIS ABABA	Ethiopia
154	173	WARSAW	Poland
158	174	BRASILIA	Brazil
169	175	KIGALI	Rwanda
176	176	BUCHAREST	Romania
175	177	SOFIA	Bulgaria
186	178	BAKU	Azerbaijan
170	179	BENGALURU	India
170	180	CAPE TOWN	South Africa
181	181	BELGRADE	Serbia
158	182	COLOMBO	Sri Lanka
192	183	KAMPALA	Uganda
195	184	ALGIERS	Algeria
177	185	JOHANNESBURG	South Africa
183	186	ASUNCION	Paraguay
193	187	MONTERREY	Mexico
165	188	HARARE	Zimbabwe
182	189	KOLKATA	India
189	189	GABORONE	Botswana
187	191	ALMATY	Kazakhstan
194	192	NOUAKCHOTT	Mauritania
204	193	BLANTYRE	Malawi
191	194	SARAJEVO	Bosnia and Herzegovina
199	195	LA PAZ	Bolivia
185	196	LUSAKA	Zambia
198	197	YEREVAN	Armenia
202	198	MINSK	Belarus
201	199	TEGUCIGALPA	Honduras
200	200	MANAGUA	Nicaragua
197	201	SKOPJE	Macedonia
203	202	TBILISI	Georgia
190	203	ISLAMABAD	Pakistan
196	204	WINDHOEK	Namibia
206	204	BANJUL	Gambia
207	206	BISHKEK	Kyrgyzstan
205	207	KARACHI	Pakistan
209	208	TASHKENT	Uzbekistan
208	209	TUNIS	Tunisia

Source: Mercer’s 2019 Cost of Living Survey

 

 

 

 

 

-ENDS-
 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes for editors

 

The figures for Mercer’s cost of living and rental accommodation cost comparisons are derived from a survey conducted in March 2019. Exchange rates from that time and Mercer’s international basket of goods and services from its Cost of Living Survey have been used as base measurements.

 

Governments and major companies use data from this survey to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad; rental accommodation costs data is used to assess local expatriate housing allowances.The choice of cities surveyed is based on demand for data.

 

Mercer also provides advice and market data on international and expatriate compensation management, and works with multinational companies and governments worldwide. It maintains one of the most comprehensive databases on international assignment policies; compensation practices; and data on worldwide cost of living, housing, and hardship allowances. Its annual global mobility conferences and other events provide companies with the latest trends and research on mobility issues. Visit https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/ for details. 

 

Mercer produces individual cost of living and rental accommodation cost reports for each city surveyed. For more information on city rankings, visit https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/cost-of-living-rankings. To purchase copies of individual city reports, visit https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/multinational-approach-cost-of-living-data or call Mercer Client Services at +48 22 434 5383.