Angola's capital Luanda retained the unenviable title of the world's most expensive city for expatriates, narrowly edging out Tokyo, according to a survey published Tuesday. At the other end of the scale, the Mercer group's study named the Pakistani port Karachi as the least expensive city, with living around three times cheaper than in Luanda.
Oil-rich Angola is a magnet for foreign workers who push up already high prices inflated by a reliance on imports. The southern African nation's domestic production lags behind its neighbours due to the effects of a 27-year-long civil war on its infrastructure. Another African city, the Chadian capital N'Djamena, was placed third with Moscow fourth and Geneva fifth.
Paris dropped 10 places to 27th while London dropped one place to 18th. New York at 32nd was named as the most expensive metropolis in the United States. Australian cities jumped sharply in the ranking, reflecting the local currency's 14 percent gain against the US dollar. The report, compared the cost of over 200 items including housing, food and transport in 214 cities, using New York as a reference.