Thread: The Mercer Expat Cost of Living Survey 2014

2014 Cost of Living Rankings

10 July 2014
US, New York

African, European, and Asian cities most expensive for expatriates due to currency fluctuations and the impact of inflation on goods and services, finds Mercer survey.

Two African cities top the list of most expensive cities for expatriates according to Mercer’s 2014 Cost of Living Survey. Although not typically recognized as wealthy cities compared to others, Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row followed by N’Djamena, Chad. European and Asian cities also continue to dominate as the costliest cities with Hong Kong 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.

Mercer's authoritative 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 is used as the base city, and all cities are compared against it. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
The survey covers 211 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.

“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,” said 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."
Other cities appearing in the top 10 of Mercer’s costliest cities for expatriates are Bern, Moscow, and Shanghai. Karachi, ranked 211, is the world’s least expensive city for expatriates, and the survey found that Luanda is more than three times as costly as Karachi.


The Top Ten Costliest Destinations

• Luanda, Angola
• N’Djamena, Chad
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Zurich, Switzerland
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Tokyo, Japan
• Bern, Switzerland
• Moscow, Russia
• Shanghai, China

Read more here..
2014 Cost of living survey


I see that Tokyo fell four spots due to the drop in the Yen. Interesting that Beijing is llth on the list after Shanghai and one ahead of Seoul. Capital cities are always more expensive in my experience. I didn't realize Hong Kong was that expensive. I read that electronics are cheaper in HK.

Mercer does a good job with it's rankings but aimed primarily at multinationals to determine costs of doing business (office, salaries, etc) and allowances (housing, schools, car, drivers etc.) for expat employees.
Hence the costs are huge. Not be taken as cost of living for an average person living in a particular country.

Originally Posted by Norton

Mercer does a good job with it's rankings but aimed primarily at multinationals to determine costs of doing business (office, salaries, etc) and allowances (housing, schools, car, drivers etc.) for expat employees.
Hence the costs are huge. Not be taken as cost of living for an average person living in a particular country.

...or how one cares to live and conduct their respective lifestyle.

All this surveying research and polling is quite nonsensical - as the imaginary research and results are variable.

Yes, jeff

Reading the whole article it's a load of bollox as far as it applies to the average person. Maybe if you are the CEO of a multi national it maybe of some use.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

Reading the whole article it's a load of bollox

Only got to the end of the 2nd sentence but have to concur

Originally Posted by thaimeme

All this surveying research and polling is quite nonsensical - as the imaginary research and results are variable.

Why bother posting then..piss off.

I found it interesting nevertheless.

Originally Posted by Albert Shagnastier

Only got to the end of the 2nd sentence but have to concur

The first word did it for me.

Originally Posted by WorldNomad

Originally Posted by thaimeme

All this surveying research and polling is quite nonsensical - as the imaginary research and results are variable.

Why bother posting then..piss off.

I found it interesting nevertheless.

I'm sure you did....

Following the establishment path blindly.

Missy T I missed you

Companies use this type of data to establish per-diem rates for their workers overseas. Its helpful information for folks who never leave their desks and make decisions on living costs for their workers by absentee.

They did this in the case of my previous employer when deciding what to allocate for per diem on assignment in Japan/Tokyo. the decision then was $21,000 per month living costs plus 35% salary uplift.

I'm sure its gone up since.