Have you ever wondered how expensive the place you live is compared to others? Or have you wanted to leave your country and work from another? Well, in this article you will know what are the most expensive cities in the worldwhat are the variables to determine the ranking and an excellent chart to compare the best cities based on cost of living and quality of life.
Every year, the Mercer company performs an annual cost of living classification so that multinationals can create compensation strategies for employees who are in other countries.
The items evaluated to define the classification are the following:
- Living place.
- Transportation.
- Public services.
- Feeding.
- Household supplies.
- Recreation.
- Clothing.
- Personal care.
- home services.
- Alcohol-Tobacco.
It is important to keep in mind that factors such as currency fluctuations and inflation are determining factors. For example, look at the increase in value that the Euro (EUR) had over the dollar (USD) between March 2020 and March 2021:
This was one of the factors that caused all the US cities on the list, 21 in total, to lose positions compared to the 2020 ranking. The most notable is New York, which lost 8 positions compared to last year (6th in 2020 , 14th in 2021)
On the other hand, cities like Paris and Milan climbed 17 and 11 positions respectively.
Most expensive cities in the world in 2021
| Rank 2020 | position 2021 | City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| two | 1 | Ashgabat | Turkmenistan |
| 1 | two | Hong Kong | Hong Kong (SAR) |
| Four. Five | 3 | Beirut | Lebanon |
| 3 | 4 | tokyo | Japan |
| 4 | 5 | Zurich | Swiss |
| 7 | 6 | Shanghai | China |
| 5 | 7 | Singapore | Singapore |
| 9 | 8 | Geneva | Swiss |
| 10 | 9 | beijing | China |
| 8 | 10 | bern | Swiss |
| eleven | eleven | seoul | South Korea |
| 13 | 12 | Shenzhen | China |
| fifteen | 13 | n’djamena | Chad |
| 6 | 14 | New York | USES |
| 12 | fifteen | Tel Aviv | Israel |
| 25 | 16 | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| twenty | 17 | guangzhou | China |
| 19 | 18 | London | United Kingdom |
| 18 | 19 | lakes | Nigeria |
| 33 | twenty | Libreville | Gabon |
| 17 | twenty-one | The Angels | USES |
| 28 | 22 | Taipei | taiwan |
| 22 | 23 | osaka | Japan |
| 36 | 24 | Abidjan | Ivory Coast |
| 16 | 25 | San Francisco | USES |
| 38 | 26 | tianjin | China |
| 3. 4 | 27 | nanking | China |
| 40 | 28 | Chengdu | China |
| 31 | 29 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia |
| 49 | 30 | Bangui | Central African Republic |
| 66 | 31 | sydney | Australia |
| 42 | 32 | nouméa | new caledonia |
| fifty | 33 | Paris | France |
| 43 | 3. 4 | qingdao | China |
| 26 | 3. 4 | Nagoya | Japan |
| 47 | 36 | Milan | Italy |
| 54 | 37 | vienna | Austria |
| 44 | 38 | Brazzaville | Congo |
| 46 | 39 | Dublin | Ireland |
| 26 | 40 | dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 24 | 41 | kinshasa | DR Congo |
| 23 | 42 | dubai | Arab Emirates |
| 28 | 43 | Honolulu | USES |
| 64 | 44 | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| 30 | Four. Five | Chicago | USES |
| 35 | 46 | Bangkok | thailand |
| 65 | 47 | Rome | Italy |
| 37 | 48 | Miami | USES |
| 56 | 49 | yaoundé | Cameroon |
the surprising winner of the most expensive cities in the world is Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Characterized for being a city with considerable inequality, with high inflation and with a growing food crisis. But also for having the record for the highest density of buildings with white marble.
It should be noted that the top 10 is dominated by the Asian continent, with 6 cities; followed by Europe with 4.
The country whose cities presented the highest increase is Australia.
- Sidney moved up 35 positions.
- Melbourne moved up 40 positions.
- Perth moved up 41 places.
- Canberra moved up 43 positions.
- Brisbane moved up 45 positions.
- Adelaide rose 38 positions.
Between March 2020 and March 2021, the Australian dollar had an increase of 28% against the Euro. And an increase of 37% against the dollar.
Similarly, all Chinese cities climbed the ranks. This is evidence of the good management they had in the pandemic, so much so that it was the only major economy that achieved growth in 2020.
It is also important to highlight the rise in the ranking that Beirut had, which went from position 45 in 2020 to 3 in 2021. “The pandemic and the explosion in the port of Beirut have amplified the economic effects, causing record inflation,” says the Mercer’s report.
Most expensive cities in Latin America
| Position in LATAM | City | Country | put in the world |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montevideo | Uruguay | 132 |
| two | Lime | Peru | 150 |
| 3 | Quito | Ecuador | 161 |
| 4 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | 168 |
| 5 | Sao Paulo | Brazil | 177 |
| 6 | Bogota | Colombia | 180 |
| 7 | Assumption | Paraguayan | 187 |
| 8 | Peace | bolivian | 189 |
| 9 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 191 |
| 10 | Brasilia | Brazil | 205 |
Only 10 Latin American cities are present within the first 205 most expensive cities in the world.
Cost of living VS Quality of life
The cost of living and quality of life are 2 essential factors to evaluate if you are contemplating changing the country or city. Nevertheless, they are not the only ones. Mercer highlights that education, climate, freedom, health system and diseases; They are also of great importance.
For example, in July 2020 in Ashgabat, the #1 most expensive city in the world, “30 mobile phone repairmen were arrested, fined and sentenced to 15 days in detention on unknown charges for providing VPN services to customers. In September, various sources reported that another 31 people in various cities were fined and sentenced to 15 days in detention for similar reasons,” according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Conclusion.
The pandemic has caused various companies to look for new ways to save costs without losing productivity. And it is there that working from home or in places outside the main office becomes an incredible alternative.
If this is your case, you already know which are the most expensive cities in the world to live and work. Additionally, you have an idea of which cities have a better balance between cost of living and quality of life. We hope this information will be very useful for you 🙂
If you want to see the entire ranking, click here.
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