London has dropped seven places to 25th place in the new Mercer Cost of Living Index, while Paris, Milan, Rome, Stockholm and Amsterdam also lost ground due to Europe’s economic turmoil.
Tokyo regained the top spot in the rankings of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates. A cup of coffee there will set you back US$5.25 and renting a two-bedroom unfurnished apartment will cost $3,068 a month.
The Japanese capital led a surge up the rankings by Asia and Pacific cities, compiled by the global employment consultancy. Six out of 10 Asian cities moved up the table.
Osaka was third and Singapore sixth most expensive cities in the survey, with Hong Kong ninth and Nagoya in Japan occupying 10th place.
The Angolan anomaly of Luanda was second (a city where a hamburger meal costs more than double anywhere else in the world – $18.50) and Moscow fourth most expensive city. Geneva held on to its fifth spot.
Nathalie Constantin-Metral, who compiled the list for Mercer, said the slippage by leading European cities this year was “mainly due to the unstable economic situation across Europe, which has led to the depreciation of most local currencies against the dollar”.
Australian cities, in particular, have become more expensive, with all six surveyed cities featuring in the top 30.
The bottom two cities on the 214-city index were Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan.
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