Two African cities have topped the list of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates, according to the Mercer’s 2014 Cost of Living Survey.
According to the research, Luanda in Angola is the most costly place for businesses to send expatriates, followed by N’Djamena (the capital of Chad) and Hong Kong.
Karachi in Pakistan is the cheapest place to live.
The report, which covers 211 cities across five continents, is designed to help multinational businesses decide how much compensation allowance to pay expatriate employees. It measures the cost of daily essentials in each city, such as housing and transportation, as well as the price of entertainment and leisure activities.
In the UK, London is the most expensive city, coming in at number 12 in the overall list. Belfast was the cheapest and ranked number 120. Other UK cities included were Birmingham (number 90), Aberdeen (number 94), and Glasgow (108).
Ed Hannibal, partner and global leader for Mercer’s mobility practice said rankings have been affected by recent events, including “economic and political upheavals”.
“While multinationals continue to recognise the importance of having a global workforce and corporate assignments remain prevalent, they must be able to monitor and balance the cost of their expatriate programmes,” he said.
“Employers need to evaluate the impact of currency fluctuations, inflation, and political instability when sending employees on overseas assignments while ensuring they offer competitive compensation packages.”
The strength of the pound against the dollar may also have contributed to the UK cities’ rise in the rankings. Ellyn Karetnick, UK head of Mercer’s international mobility practice said the UK’s “soaring housing market” also had an impact.
