Mercer’s Cost of Living Survey has thrown up some interesting but unexpected results. According to the survey Luanda has topped the list for the second year in a row and is followed by Tokyo in Japan and N’Djamena in Chad. The general perception is that only the mega cities of the world are more expensive to live in but according to the survey you would have to pay $28 for a CD and about $20 for a club sandwich and soda in Luanda and is hence the most expensive city in the world.
The biggest finding or the latest trend that has emerged from the survey conducted in 214 cities across the world is that the cost in the American and European cities have remained stable causing them to slip in the ranking while the African and Asian cities have climbed. The new cities that now find themselves in the top 10 list are Singapore at number 8 and Sao Paulo in Brazil, which jumped from 21st to 10th. Mercer clarified that the cause of the rising of the Brazilian cities was because their currency had strengthened significantly against the Dollar.
Moscow has got the tag of the most expensive European city and fourth overall. Geneva is next at the fifth position and Zurich rose one place to be placed seventh in the list. Another finding that goes totally against the general perception is that New York which is the most expensive American City finds itself in the 32nd place in the global list. Karachi in Pakistan finds itself at the bottom of the list and the explanation is that there is a lack of demand for housing by the expats as companies do not want to send their employees there for security concerns. Political upheavals, natural disasters and rising oil prices have had their impact on the final list which had the most changes this year from the previous year.
