Tokyo was yet again named as the most expensive place in the world in which to live in a recent survey by Eurocost International.
Expatriation and cost of living experts Eurocost International recently released their 2012 Expat Cost of Living Ranking, which compares the cost of living in major expatriate destinations throughout the world. According to this year’s results, Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world, followed by Luanda and Moscow. However, while the top three show little change from recent years, a larger shift can be seen in the remainder of the results, which have exhibited major ranking changes over the last year.
The biggest changes have been observed in Eurozone cities, all of which have disappeared from this year’s top 30. One of the main explanations for this is due to the value of the Euro, which has depreciated significantly against the remainder of the world’s top currencies. Similar trends have been observed with the Swiss franc and the devaluation of this currency has led to many Swiss locations falling several places in the rankings. These cities include Geneva, which fell 5 places from 4th to 9th; Zurich, which dropped 10 places from 7th to 17th; Lausanne, which fell 11 places to 21st; and Bern, which fell 14 places to 29th.
According to Eurocost, London is now the fifth most expensive country in the world in which to live as a result of increases in the value of the pound. The Australian cities of Sydney and Canberra were also named towards the top of the list of the most expensive cities in the world.
The results of the survey were based on research into the cost of a basket of goods in the cities involved in the survey. The costs included goods and services that are typically consumed by expatriates, including rental expenses. Health and school costs were excluded.
Detailed information per city can be obtained in EuroCost International’s rent surveys.
The top 30 most expensive expat cities in the world
1. Tokyo, Japan
2. Luanda, Angola
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Singapore, Singapore
5. London, England
6. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
7. Sydney, Australia
8. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
9. Geneva, Switzerland
10. Kinshaa, Democratic Republic of Congo
11. Oslo, Norway
12. Canberra, Australia
13. Shanghai, China
14. Beirut, Lebanon
15. Seoul, South Korea
16. Beijing, China
17. Zurich, Switzerland
18. Sao Paulo, Brazil
19. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
20. Caracas, Venezuela
21. Lausanne, Switzerland
22. New York, United States of America
23. Guangzhou, China
24. Honiara, Soloman Islands
25. Kiev, Ukraine
26. Copenhagen, Denmark
27. Almaty, Kazakhstan
28. Bogota, Colombia
29. Berne, Switzerland
30. Brasilia, Brazil
