- N’Djamena is the highest ranking in Africa
- The world’s least expensive cities are Tunis, Tashkent and Karachi
- Cities in Asia most expensive locations for employees working abroad
In comparison with other cities in the world, Lagos, Nigeria continues to remain attractive for foreign investments despite being one of the most expensive in Africa. Mercer’s 25th annual Cost of Living Survey finds that a number of factors, including currency fluctuations, cost of inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices, contribute to the overall cost of expatriate packages for employees on international assignments.
Lagos, Nigeria is the 25th most expensive city in the world. Having moved up seventeen places from last year’s ranking, Nigeria’s commercial hub is one of Mercer’s top 5 costliest cities in Africa. Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of Congo (22) is in second place, rising fifteen places. Libreville, Gabon (24) is the next African city on the list, followed by Lagos, Nigeria (25). Despite dropping about 20 places, Luanda, Angola (26) still remains in fifth place.
“Each African country has its own unique economy and this is why multinationals need not approach their expatriate packages for Africa with one single strategy. Let’s look at it this way, while a city like N’Djamena in Chad has been listed as the 11th most expensive city in the world, whereas Mali comes in at the 124th position in terms of cost of living,” said Yolanda Sedlmaier, Principal Leader – Africa Mobility at Mercer.
Global ranking
Mercer’s 2019 Cost of Living Survey finds that eight out of the top ten of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates are Asian cities, resulting from high costs for expatriate consumer goods and a dynamic housing market. Tokyo (2), Singapore (3) and Seoul (4) top the list, while the costliest city in the world for the second consecutive year in Hong Kong (1). Other cities appearing in the top ten are Zurich (5), Shanghai (6), Ashgabat (7), Beijing (8), New York City (9), and Shenzhen (10). The world’s least expensive cities for expatriates are Tunis (209), Tashkent (208), and Karachi (207).
Mercer’s widely recognized survey is one of the world’s most comprehensive and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. New York City is used as the base city for all comparisons, and currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The survey includes over 500 cities throughout the world; this year’s ranking includes 209 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.
Mercer produces individual cost of living and rental accommodation cost reports for each city surveyed. For more information on city rankings, visit https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/cost-of-living-rankings.
| Mercer Cost of Living Survey – Worldwide Rankings 2019 (Mercer international basket, including rental accommodation costs) |
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| Rank as of March | City | Country/Region | |
| 2018 | 2019 | ||
| 1 | 1 | HONG KONG | Hong Kong (SAR) |
| 2 | 2 | TOKYO | Japan |
| 4 | 3 | SINGAPORE | Singapore |
| 5 | 4 | SEOUL | South Korea |
| 3 | 5 | ZURICH | Switzerland |
| 7 | 6 | SHANGHAI | China |
| 43 | 7 | ASHGABAT | Turkmenistan |
| 9 | 8 | BEIJING | China |
| 13 | 9 | NEW YORK CITY | United States |
| 12 | 10 | SHENZHEN | China |
| 8 | 11 | NDJAMENA | Chad |
| 10 | 12 | BERN | Switzerland |
| 11 | 13 | GENEVA | Switzerland |
| 21 | 14 | VICTORIA | Seychelles |
| 16 | 15 | TEL AVIV | Israel |
| 28 | 16 | SAN FRANCISCO | United States |
| 15 | 17 | GUANGZHOU | China |
| 35 | 18 | LOS ANGELES | United States |
| 23 | 19 | OSAKA | Japan |
| 14 | 20 | COPENHAGEN | Denmark |
| 26 | 21 | DUBAI | United Arab Emirates |
| 37 | 22 | KINSHASA | Dem. Rep. of the Congo |
| 19 | 23 | LONDON | United Kingdom |
| 18 | 24 | LIBREVILLE | Gabon |
| 42 | 25 | LAGOS | Nigeria |
| 6 | 26 | LUANDA | Angola |
| 17 | 27 | MOSCOW | Russia |
| 25 | 27 | NANJING | China |
| 22 | 29 | NOUMEA | New Caledonia |
| 24 | 30 | ABIDJAN | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 31 | 30 | CHENGDU | China |
| 29 | 32 | TIANJIN | China |
| 40 | 33 | ABU DHABI | United Arab Emirates |
| 41 | 33 | NAGOYA | Japan |
| 27 | 35 | TAIPEI | Taiwan |
| 45 | 35 | RIYADH | Saudi Arabia |
| 51 | 37 | CHICAGO | United States |
| 54 | 38 | HONOLULU | United States |
| 19 | 39 | BRAZZAVILLE | Congo |
| 52 | 40 | BANGKOK | Thailand |
| 36 | 41 | QINGDAO | China |
| 56 | 42 | WASHINGTON | United States |
| 32 | 43 | DUBLIN | Ireland |
| 60 | 44 | MIAMI | United States |
| 33 | 45 | MILAN | Italy |
| 38 | 45 | SHENYANG | China |
| 34 | 47 | PARIS | France |
| 66 | 47 | DHAKA | Bangladesh |
| 70 | 49 | BOSTON | United States |
| 29 | 50 | SYDNEY | Australia |
| 39 | 51 | VIENNA | Austria |
| 43 | 52 | YAOUNDE | Cameroon |
| 65 | 53 | BEIRUT | Lebanon |
| 48 | 54 | BANGUI | Central African Republic |
| 46 | 55 | ROME | Italy |
| 79 | 56 | WHITE PLAINS | United States |
| 77 | 57 | MANAMA | Bahrain |
| 50 | 58 | AMSTERDAM | Netherlands |
| 73 | 59 | DJIBOUTI | Djibouti |
| 86 | 59 | HOUSTON | United States |
| 47 | 61 | OSLO | Norway |
| 85 | 62 | DALLAS | United States |
| 63 | 63 | ACCRA | Ghana |
| 90 | 64 | SEATTLE | United States |
| 53 | 65 | HELSINKI | Finland |
| 73 | 66 | DOUALA | Cameroon |
| 55 | 67 | MUMBAI | India |
| 57 | 67 | MUNICH | Germany |
| 95 | 69 | ATLANTA | United States |
| 75 | 70 | MONTEVIDEO | Uruguay |
| 97 | 70 | MORRISTOWN | United States |
| 62 | 72 | DAKAR | Senegal |
| 95 | 72 | SAN JUAN | Puerto Rico |
| 68 | 74 | FRANKFURT | Germany |
| 49 | 75 | ST. PETERSBURG | Russia |
| 94 | 75 | AMMAN | Jordan |
| 67 | 77 | BRUSSELS | Belgium |
| 102 | 78 | MINNEAPOLIS | United States |
| 58 | 79 | MELBOURNE | Australia |
| 69 | 79 | SANTIAGO | Chile |
| 71 | 81 | BERLIN | Germany |
| 64 | 82 | MADRID | Spain |
| 97 | 83 | PORT OF SPAIN | Trinidad & Tobago |
| 71 | 84 | LUXEMBOURG | Luxembourg |
| 99 | 85 | ABUJA | Nigeria |
| 58 | 86 | SAO PAULO | Brazil |
| 61 | 87 | PERTH | Australia |
| 106 | 88 | CONAKRY | Guinea |
| 81 | 89 | AUCKLAND | New Zealand |
| 116 | 90 | DETROIT | United States |
| 79 | 91 | BARCELONA | Spain |
| 82 | 92 | DUSSELDORF | Germany |
| 114 | 93 | PANAMA CITY | Panama |
| 122 | 94 | ST. LOUIS | United States |
| 93 | 95 | LISBON | Portugal |
| 77 | 96 | CANBERRA | Australia |
| 83 | 97 | PRAGUE | Czech Republic |
| 123 | 97 | NAIROBI | Kenya |
| 125 | 97 | PITTSBURGH | United States |
| 88 | 100 | HAMBURG | Germany |
| 117 | 100 | JEDDAH | Saudi Arabia |
| 106 | 102 | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN | Brunei |
| 84 | 103 | BRISBANE | Australia |
| 117 | 103 | MUSCAT | Oman |
| 117 | 105 | JAKARTA | Indonesia |
| 125 | 106 | CLEVELAND | United States |
| 130 | 107 | PORTLAND | United States |
| 142 | 108 | PHNOM PENH | Cambodia |
| 87 | 109 | ADELAIDE | Australia |
| 138 | 109 | MANILA | Philippines |
| 92 | 111 | RIGA | Latvia |
| 109 | 112 | VANCOUVER | Canada |
| 137 | 112 | HANOI | Vietnam |
| 101 | 114 | WELLINGTON | New Zealand |
| 109 | 115 | TORONTO | Canada |
| 115 | 115 | DOHA | Qatar |
| 91 | 117 | YANGON | Myanmar |
| 103 | 118 | NEW DELHI | India |
| 121 | 119 | KUWAIT CITY | Kuwait |
| 124 | 120 | HO CHI MINH CITY | Vietnam |
| 99 | 121 | RIO DE JANEIRO | Brazil |
| 132 | 121 | LIMA | Peru |
| 105 | 123 | LYON | France |
| 120 | 124 | BAMAKO | Mali |
| 104 | 125 | POINTE A PITRE | Guadeloupe |
| 108 | 126 | STUTTGART | Germany |
| 89 | 127 | STOCKHOLM | Sweden |
| 111 | 128 | COTONOU | Benin |
| 112 | 128 | ATHENS | Greece |
| 128 | 128 | CASABLANCA | Morocco |
| 113 | 131 | BRATISLAVA | Slovakia |
| 141 | 131 | SAN JOSE | Costa Rica |
| 76 | 133 | BUENOS AIRES | Argentina |
| 165 | 133 | HAVANA | Cuba |
| 128 | 135 | BIRMINGHAM | United Kingdom |
| 130 | 136 | GUATEMALA CITY | Guatemala |
| 134 | 137 | ABERDEEN | United Kingdom |
| 161 | 138 | WINSTON SALEM | United States |
| 147 | 139 | MONTREAL | Canada |
| 140 | 140 | TALLINN | Estonia |
| 145 | 141 | KUALA LUMPUR | Malaysia |
| 132 | 142 | LJUBLJANA | Slovenia |
| 138 | 143 | ZAGREB | Croatia |
| 157 | 144 | MEXICO CITY | Mexico |
| 134 | 145 | LOME | Togo |
| 134 | 145 | OUAGADOUGOU | Burkina Faso |
| 148 | 145 | GLASGOW | United Kingdom |
| 156 | 148 | QUITO | Ecuador |
| 143 | 149 | NIAMEY | Niger |
| 173 | 150 | KIEV | Ukraine |
| 145 | 151 | NUREMBERG | Germany |
| 148 | 152 | VILNIUS | Lithuania |
| 154 | 153 | CALGARY | Canada |
| 144 | 154 | CHENNAI | India |
| 163 | 154 | ISTANBUL | Turkey |
| 150 | 156 | LEIPZIG | Germany |
| 164 | 157 | KINGSTON | Jamaica |
| 152 | 158 | BELFAST | United Kingdom |
| 179 | 159 | MAPUTO | Mozambique |
| 165 | 160 | RABAT | Morocco |
| 153 | 161 | LIMASSOL | Cyprus |
| 160 | 161 | OTTAWA | Canada |
| 161 | 161 | PORT LOUIS | Mauritius |
| 151 | 164 | BUDAPEST | Hungary |
| 125 | 165 | PORT AU PRINCE | Haiti |
| 172 | 166 | TIRANA | Albania |
| 174 | 166 | SAN SALVADOR | El Salvador |
| 188 | 166 | CAIRO | Egypt |
| 178 | 169 | SANTO DOMINGO | Dominican Republic |
| 168 | 170 | BOGOTA | Colombia |
| 180 | 171 | DAR ES SALAAM | Tanzania |
| 183 | 171 | ADDIS ABABA | Ethiopia |
| 154 | 173 | WARSAW | Poland |
| 158 | 174 | BRASILIA | Brazil |
| 169 | 175 | KIGALI | Rwanda |
| 176 | 176 | BUCHAREST | Romania |
| 175 | 177 | SOFIA | Bulgaria |
| 186 | 178 | BAKU | Azerbaijan |
| 170 | 179 | BENGALURU | India |
| 170 | 180 | CAPE TOWN | South Africa |
| 181 | 181 | BELGRADE | Serbia |
| 158 | 182 | COLOMBO | Sri Lanka |
| 192 | 183 | KAMPALA | Uganda |
| 195 | 184 | ALGIERS | Algeria |
| 177 | 185 | JOHANNESBURG | South Africa |
| 183 | 186 | ASUNCION | Paraguay |
| 193 | 187 | MONTERREY | Mexico |
| 165 | 188 | HARARE | Zimbabwe |
| 182 | 189 | KOLKATA | India |
| 189 | 189 | GABORONE | Botswana |
| 187 | 191 | ALMATY | Kazakhstan |
| 194 | 192 | NOUAKCHOTT | Mauritania |
| 204 | 193 | BLANTYRE | Malawi |
| 191 | 194 | SARAJEVO | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 199 | 195 | LA PAZ | Bolivia |
| 185 | 196 | LUSAKA | Zambia |
| 198 | 197 | YEREVAN | Armenia |
| 202 | 198 | MINSK | Belarus |
| 201 | 199 | TEGUCIGALPA | Honduras |
| 200 | 200 | MANAGUA | Nicaragua |
| 197 | 201 | SKOPJE | Macedonia |
| 203 | 202 | TBILISI | Georgia |
| 190 | 203 | ISLAMABAD | Pakistan |
| 196 | 204 | WINDHOEK | Namibia |
| 206 | 204 | BANJUL | Gambia |
| 207 | 206 | BISHKEK | Kyrgyzstan |
| 205 | 207 | KARACHI | Pakistan |
| 209 | 208 | TASHKENT | Uzbekistan |
| 208 | 209 | TUNIS | Tunisia |