Revealed: the most expensive cities for expats

A newly released annual ranking has provided an insight into the most costly locations for expats.

Does your company position employees overseas? If so, it could fall into the hands of HR to plan foreign remuneration packages – and it could help to be aware of the world’s most pricey locations for expatriates.
 
ECA International’s annual ranking named Juba, South Sudan’s capital, as the world’s most expensive city for expat workers.
 
ECA takes several factors into account when compiling the rankings, including the prices of a number of items and services, to compare how expensive it would be to maintain the same standard of living in the new country.
 
Juba – which was at number nine in last year’s rankings – occupies the top spot because international employees are likely to request or need items that have a high price in South Sudan.
 
Although the likelihood of Australian workers being sent to work in Juba is low, many of the more typical locations for expats were featured in the list.

The 30 most expensive cities for expats are:
  1. Juba, South Sudan
  2. Angola, Luanda
  3. Zurich, Switzerland
  4. Geneva, Switzerland
  5. Bern, Switzerland
  6. Basel, Switzerland
  7. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  8. Shanghai, China
  9. Beijing, China
  10. Seoul, South Korea
  11. Oslo, Norway
  12. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  13. Stavanger, Norway
  14. Guangzhou, China
  15. Busan, South Korea
  16. Tokyo, Japan
  17. Conakry, Guinea
  18. Shenzen, China
  19. Singapore, Singapore
  20. Manhattan, USA
  21. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
  22. Copenhagen, Denmark
  23. Ulsan, South Korea
  24. Tel Aviv, Israel
  25. Jerusalem, Israel
  26. Dalian, China
  27. Libreville, Gabon
  28. Yokohama, Japan
  29. New York, USA
  30. Honolulu, USA