Swiss cities dominate list of most expensive locations in the world for expats

ECA International (ECA) has revealed that Zurich is the most expensive city in Europe for expatriates in the latest Cost of Living rankings. Despite little change in prices compared with the previous year, Swiss cities continue to dominate the global top 10 – with Zurich 3^rd, Geneva 4^th, Basel 5^th and Bern 6^th.

“The comparative strength of the franc has contributed to Switzerland remaining as one of the most expensive countries surveyed in the world. Despite prices hardly rising in the previous year, Swiss cities dominate the top of the rankings,” said Steven Kilfedder, Production Manager, ECA International.

Published by ECA, the world’s leading provider of information, software and expertise for the management and assignment of employees around the world, the Cost of Living Survey compares a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by international assignees* in over 460 locations worldwide. The survey allows businesses to ensure that their employees’ spending power is maintained when they are sent on international assignments. ECA International has been conducting research into cost of living for over 45 years.

European highlights:

UK cities have dropped as many as 68 places from last year – their lowest ever recorded

Central London is now 132^nd in the world, down from 65^th last year, its lowest ever recorded since ECA first began publishing the Cost of Living rankings over 10 years ago. Central London sits just above Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, in the global rankings, and has now been overtaken by Rio de Janeiro (88^th), Bangkok (116^th) and Dublin (120^th).

“Thanks to the weakened pound UK businesses are paying more to send staff to work overseas, but it is cheaper to bring staff to the UK,” stated Kilfedder. “UK locations have seen the most dramatic decline in Europe this year and the fifth-largest decline in the world – behind cities in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana in Africa. All ranked UK cities have dropped below regional rivals Paris, Berlin and Brussels in the Cost of Living rankings.”

Edinburgh has fallen to 165^th, Cardiff is now ranked at 175^th and Belfast has dropped to 186^th in ECA’s ranking.

Strengthened rouble leads to Moscow climbing the global rankings

The strengthened rouble has led to Moscow climbing the global rankings by 125 places this year to 56^th. However, it has a long way to go to reach the heights of five years ago when it was ranked 13^th in the world. St Petersburg has also shot up the rankings this year, joining Moscow in the European top 20 and climbing 105 places in the global rankings – now sitting in 118^thplace.

The relative decline of the euro between surveys has seen most Eurozone locations fall in the global rankings with French, Dutch and German destinations among those falling most in the past year. Berlin has seen the most significant decline in mainland Europe, falling by 28 places to 122^nd place.

Global highlights:

Luanda is now the most expensive location in the world for expats

Luanda has risen from 8th position last year to top ECA’s global rankings this year.

“The cost of goods typically purchased by international assignees in Luanda, which was already high due to poor infrastructure and high oil-fuelled demand, has been pushed much higher in the last year. The Angolan kwanza is increasingly overvalued, which pushes up relative costs, while the continued weakness of the black-market exchange rate has also inflated the price of imported goods,” added Kilfedder.

Australia climbs the cost of living rankings

Sydney remains the most expensive city in Australia. It currently ranks 50^th in the global rankings, up from 70^th place last year. All ranked locations within Australia rose in our global rankings this year, with Adelaide rising the most, by 34 places to 75^th position – although it is still the cheapest ranked location in Australia.

South American cities re-enter the top 100 most expensive in the world

Caracas, in Venezuela, climbed a dramatic 252 places in the past 12 months, and is now ranked 9^th in the world, “though this ranking is likely to change considerably in upcoming Cost of Living Surveys given ongoing exchange-rate volatility,” added Kilfedder.

Buenos Aires (35^th), Sao Paulo (85^th), Rio de Janeiro (88^th) and Montevideo (97^th) also re-entered the top 100 most expensive locations in the world, with Brasilia reaching 103^rd, up 106 places since last year.

Although falling a few places this year to 23^rd globally, Manhattan remains the most expensive location in North America for expatriates.

Hong Kong is the world’s second-most expensive location for expatriates

Hong Kong is up one place from second position in the regional rankings. From a global perspective, it has climbed seven places to become the second-most expensive location for expatriates – its highest ever rankings on both fronts. Since 2011, Hong Kong has risen steadily in both the regional and global rankings.

All surveyed locations in China remain in the top 100 most expensive in the world, with Shanghai peaking at 13^th position. Even though all ranked Chinese cities fell in the global rankings this year, they’re far more expensive than five years ago – with cities there rising by over 52 places on average.

Rebecca Clarke

rclarke@hrreview.co.uk

Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.

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