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Angola's capital Luanda retained the unenviable title
of the world's most expensive city for expatriates, narrowly edging out
Tokyo, according to a survey published Tuesday.
At the other end of the scale, the Mercer group's study named the
Pakistani port Karachi as the least expensive city, with living around
three times cheaper than in Luanda.
Oil-rich Angola is a magnet for foreign workers who push up already high
prices inflated by a reliance on imports.
The southern African nation's domestic production lags behind its
neighbours due to the effects of a 27-year-long civil war on its
infrastructure.
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Another African city, the Chadian capital N'Djamena,
was placed third with Moscow fourth and Geneva fifth.
Paris dropped 10 places to 27th while London dropped one place to 18th.
New York at 32nd was named as the most expensive metropolis in the
United States.
Mercer senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metraln said: "In most
Western European cities the cost of living for expatriates has remained
relatively stable over the last 12 months.
"However, many of the region's cities have still dropped in the ranking.
In large, this is because all cities are compared to New York and price
increases there have been more significant than in most European
cities," she added.
Australian cities jumped sharply in the ranking, reflecting the local
currency's 14 percent gain against the US dollar.
The report, which is published annually to help companies assess
compensation allowances for expatriate workers, compared the cost of
over 200 items including housing, food and transport in 214 cities,
using New York as a reference.
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