Bangkok has risen seven places in the annual Mercer Cost of Living Survey, DDproperty.com can reveal. The Thai capital now ranks in 81st position of the 214 cities surveyed by the global professional services company.
The survey is one of the world’s most comprehensive and helps multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expat employees. New York is used as the base city, and all cities are compared against it. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive for expatriates according to this year’s report. Moscow leads the way in Europe while Tokyo is the most expensive in Asia. Singapore is placed 5th globally, ahead of Hong Kong which sits in 6th place/
The report covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.
The difference in cost for these items can be dramatic. For example the cost of a cup of coffee in Managua, Nicaragua is US$1.54 compared to US$8.29 in Moscow; a fast food hamburger meal is US$3.62 in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, versus US$13.49 in Caracas, and a cinema ticket is US$5.91 in Johannesburg compared to US$20.10 in London.
The cost of expatriate housing is typically the biggest expense for employers, and it plays an important part in determining the rankings.
Moscow follows Luanda as the second most expensive city globally because of high costs for rental accommodation, and imported goods and services that are commonly purchased by expatriates command a premium. A luxury two-bedroom unfurnished apartment rental for one month in Moscow is US$4,600 a month – some14 times more expensive than Karachi.
Rounding out the top five most expensive cities for expatriate living,which also have pricey rental accommodations, are Tokyo, the Chad city Ndjamena, and Singapore.
"Recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, which resulted in currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices have impacted these cities making them expensive,” said Barb Marder, Senior Partner and Mercer’s Global Mobility Practice Leader.
"Despite being one of Africa’s major oil producers, Angola is a relatively poor country yet expensive for expatriates since imported goods can be costly. In addition, finding secure living accommodations that meet the standards of expatriates can be challenging and quite costly."
Currency fluctuations and the impact of inflation on goods and services have affected the cost of expatriate programs as well as the city rankings.
"Overall, the cost of living in cities across parts of Europe has gone up in the ranking as a result of the slight strengthening of local currencies against the US dollar, whereas in Asia about half of the cities went down in the ranking – Japan especially – due to local currencies’ weakening against the US dollar,” said Nathalie Constantin-Métral, Principal at Mercer with responsibility for compiling the survey ranking.
A spokesperson for Mercer confirmed Bangkok’s position in this year’s survey but declined to provide additional information about costs in the Thai capital.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@allproperty.com.sg
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