| The US has become less expensive for | | | | 5. Tripoli, Libya (53.22) |
| expatriates relative to cities in Asia and | | | | |
| Africa over the past year, says a cost of | | | | 6. Quito, Ecuador (53.23) |
| living comparison of 228 global cities. | | | | |
| | | | 7. Buenos Aires, Argentina (53.25) |
| The cost of living comparison prices goods | | | | |
| and services that expatriates spend their | | | | 8. La Paz, Bolivia (53.54) |
| salaries on, and reports indexes for 13 | | | | |
| different basket groups using New York (100) | | | | 9. Asmara, Eritrea (54.49) |
| as the base. | | | | |
| | | | 10.Tashkent, Uzbekistan (56.06) |
| In terms of overall cost of living, New York | | | | |
| is now the 28th most expensive global city | | | | This means that overall, goods or services |
| and the 61st in terms of groceries. New York | | | | that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the |
| has dropped primarily due to the weakness of | | | | equivalent of just USD$16.44 in Harare, and |
| the US Dollar as well as the economic | | | | USD$53.54 in La Paz. |
| slowdown which appears to have slowed the | | | | |
| increase in prices relative to other global | | | | The cost of living varies from one location |
| cities. | | | | to another and by type of expense, mainly due |
| | | | to local supply and demand variations in each |
| The global cost of living comparison | | | | location. In some cities, groceries are more |
| conducted by shows London is the most | | | | costly while accommodation is relatively less |
| expensive global location for expatriates, | | | | costly and vice versa. |
| while 3 of the top 5 most expensive cities | | | | |
| are in Asia, with Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong | | | | In terms of groceries Seoul is the most |
| ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 5th respectively in | | | | expensive. Africa however has 6 of the 10 |
| terms of overall cost of living. | | | | most expensive cities, Brazzaville, Accra, |
| | | | Lagos, Abidjan, Kinshasa, and Luanda. |
| Overall Cost of Living Comparison - Top 10 | | | | |
| | | | Grocery Cost of Living Comparison - Top 10 |
| The 10 most expensive global cities for | | | | |
| expatriates to live, based on overall cost of | | | | The top 10 (most expensive) global cities for |
| living (Index is in brackets) as at March | | | | expatriates to live using the price of |
| 2008 are: | | | | groceries as 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 | | | | When establishing a salary for a global |
| that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the | | | | assignment it is essential that the items the |
| equivalent of USD$126.63 in London, and | | | | expatriate will actually spend their salary |
| USD$108.51 in Luanda. | | | | on are included in the cost of living |
| | | | calculation. Similarly the items that are |
| Overall Cost of Living Comparison - Bottom 10 | | | | provided for the expatriate should be |
| | | | excluded from the cost of living calculation. |
| The bottom 10 (least expensive) cities for | | | | If the incorrect items are included or |
| expatriates to live, based on overall cost of | | | | excluded, large variations in the calculation |
| living (Index is in brackets) as at March | | | | of cost of living are likely. As an example |
| 2008 are: | | | | London is ranked as the most expensive global |
| | | | location in terms of overall cost of living, |
| 1. Harare, Zimbabwe (16.44) | | | | but is only ranked 26th most expensive |
| | | | location for groceries. |
| 2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia (44.89) | | | | |
| | | | Africa and Asia are becoming relatively more |
| 3. Sanaa, Yemen (44.95) | | | | expensive than other global cities after |
| | | | lagging for decades; organisations need to |
| 4. Dushanbe, Tajikistan (51.24) | | | | factor this into expatriate pay calculations |
| | | | for global assignments. |