Latest Global Cost of Living Comparison Study Shows New Trend

Locations in Asia and Africa have become relatively4. Dushanbe, Tajikistan (51.24)
more expensive in terms of cost of living for5. Tripoli, Libya (53.22)
expatriates, while US locations have become relatively6. Quito, Ecuador (53.23)
less expensive, says a cost of living comparison of7. Buenos Aires, Argentina (53.25)
228 global locations.8. La Paz, Bolivia (53.54)
The cost of living comparison prices goods and9. Asmara, Eritrea (54.49)
services that expatriates spend their salaries on, and10.Tashkent, Uzbekistan (56.06)
creates indexes for 13 different basket groups usingThis means that overall, goods or services that cost
New York as the base (i.e. New York is equal to 100)USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of just
The global cost of living comparison conducted byUSD$16.44 in Harare, and USD$53.25 in Buenos Aires.
indicates 3 of the top 5 most expensive locations areHowever the cost of living not only varies from one
in Asia, while London is the most expensive globallocation to another, but also varies by type of expense,
location for expatriates. Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kongdue to local supply and demand variations in each
are ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 5th respectively in terms oflocation. In some locations, accommodation is more
overall cost of living. Groceries are the most expensivecostly while groceries are relatively less costly and
in Africa, with 6 of the 10 most expensive locations.vice versa.
New York on the other hand has dropped to 28thIn terms of groceries Seoul is the most expensive,
position in terms of overall cost of living, and 61st inwhile Africa has Brazzaville, Accra, Lagos, Abidjan,
terms of groceries.Kinshasa, and Luanda in the top 10.
Cost of Living Comparison Top 10 OverallCost of Living Comparison Top 10 For Groceries
The 10 most expensive global locations for expatriatesThe top 10 most expensive global locations for
to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is inexpatriates to live based on the price of groceries as
brackets) as at March 2008 are:at March 2008 are as follows:
1. London, United Kingdom (126.63)1. Seoul, Republic of Korea
2. Tokyo, Japan (121.88)2. Brazzaville, Congo
3. Seoul, Republic of Korea (119.54)3. Ashgabat Turkmenistan
4. Oslo, Norway (115.39)4. Accra, Ghana
5. Hong Kong, China (113.00)5. Lagos, Nigeria
6. Copenhagen, Denmark (112.63)6. Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Moscow, Russia (110.35)7. Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
8. Geneva, Switzerland (110.06)8. Kinshasa Congo Democratic Rep
9. Hamilton, Bermuda (109.63)9. Luanda, Angola
10.Luanda, Angola (108.51)10.Oslo, Norway
This means that overall goods or services that costLocations in Asia and Africa are increasingly becoming
USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent ofmore expensive in terms of cost of living for
USD$126.63 in London, and USD$110.35 in Moscow.expatriates; organisations need to take this into
New York has dropped primarily due to the weaknessaccount when establishing expatriate pay for
of the US Dollar as well as the economic slowdowninternational assignments.
which appears to have slowed the increase in pricesInterestingly, although London is ranked the most
relative to other global locations.expensive global location in terms of overall cost of
Cost of Living Comparison Bottom 10 Overallliving, it is only ranked 26th most expensive location for
The 10 least expensive locations for expatriates to live,groceries. It is therefore very important when
based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) asconducting a cost of living comparison that only those
at March 2008 are:items the expatriate will spend their salary on are
1. Harare, Zimbabwe (16.44)included in the calculation, and that those benefits that
2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia (44.89)are provided for the expatriate are excluded from the
3. Sanaa, Yemen (44.95)cost of living comparison.