Highlights from the 2011 Cost-of-Living Survey

Luanda in Angola remains the world's most expensive city for expatriates; Karachi is again the cheapest
Top 10 ranked cities are dominated by Africa, Europe and Asia
Singapore and São Paolo join the top 10 list

The Mercer survey covers more than 300 cities and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world's most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowance for their expatriate employees.

New York is used as the base city for the index and all cities are compared against New York. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The cost of housing – often the biggest expense for expats – plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.

New entries in the top 10 list of the costliest cities in the world are Singapore (8), up from 11, and São Paolo (10), which has jumped 11 places since the 2010 ranking. Karachi (214) is ranked as the world’s least expensive city, and the survey found that Luanda, in top place, is more than three times as costly as Karachi. Recent world events, including natural disasters and political upheavals, have impacted the rankings for many regions through currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices.

Read more from the Press Release
12 July 2011

We sat down with Nathalie Constantin-Métral and Marie-Laurence Sépède to discuss the Cost of Living Survey results for 2011 (Video 4.00 min)

Cost-of-Living Information Services

Key features and benefits

To encourage mobility and to manage your international assignment costs, you need precise information to calculate fair, consistent expatriate compensation packages. Based on over 200 goods and services, our semi-annual surveys are conducted by professional researchers simultaneously in over 300 locations we cover. Carefully chosen vendors reflect only those outlets where your expatriates can buy goods and services of international quality.

A unique international basket of goods and services reflecting realistic spending habits established through years of extensive expatriate research.
Distinct cost-of-living (COL) indices for different types of expatriate shoppers.
Online Cost-of-Living Index Calculators that allow you to customize the COL index to your specific needs.
Reasonable, realistic indices.
Full list of stores and sources where prices are collected.
Immediate estimation of the cost-of-living allowance (COLA) using our Cost-of-Living Allowance Calculators.
Current information, with locations extensively surveyed twice a year by professional researchers.
More frequent updates for markets in flux.
Special cities surveyed upon request.
Methodologies that let you determine competitive purchasing power for all your employees, wherever they come from.

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