| The US has become less expensive for expatriates | | | | 6. Quito, Ecuador (53.23) |
| relative to cities in Asia and Africa over the past | | | | 7. Buenos Aires, Argentina (53.25) |
| year, says a cost of living comparison of 228 global | | | | 8. La Paz, Bolivia (53.54) |
| cities. | | | | 9. Asmara, Eritrea (54.49) |
| The cost of living comparison prices goods and | | | | 10.Tashkent, Uzbekistan (56.06) |
| services that expatriates spend their salaries on, and | | | | This means that overall, goods or services that cost |
| reports indexes for 13 different basket groups using | | | | USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of just |
| New York (100) as the base. | | | | USD$16.44 in Harare, and USD$53.54 in La Paz. |
| In terms of overall cost of living, New York is now | | | | The cost of living varies from one location to another |
| the 28th most expensive global city and the 61st in | | | | and by type of expense, mainly due to local supply |
| terms of groceries. New York has dropped primarily | | | | and demand variations in each location. In some cities, |
| due to the weakness of the US Dollar as well as the | | | | groceries are more costly while accommodation is |
| economic slowdown which appears to have slowed | | | | relatively less costly and vice versa. |
| the increase in prices relative to other global cities. | | | | In terms of groceries Seoul is the most expensive. |
| The global cost of living comparison conducted by | | | | Africa however has 6 of the 10 most expensive |
| shows London is the most expensive global location | | | | cities, Brazzaville, Accra, Lagos, Abidjan, Kinshasa, and |
| for expatriates, while 3 of the top 5 most expensive | | | | Luanda. |
| cities are in Asia, with Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong | | | | Grocery Cost of Living Comparison – Top 10 |
| ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 5th respectively in terms of | | | | The top 10 (most expensive) global cities for |
| overall cost of living. | | | | expatriates to live using the price of groceries as at |
| Overall Cost of Living Comparison – Top 10 | | | | March 2008 are as follows: |
| The 10 most expensive global cities for expatriates | | | | 1. Seoul, Republic of Korea |
| to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in | | | | 2. Brazzaville, Congo |
| brackets) as at March 2008 are: | | | | 3. Ashgabat Turkmenistan |
| 1. London, United Kingdom (126.63) | | | | 4. Accra, Ghana |
| 2. Tokyo, Japan (121.88) | | | | 5. Lagos, Nigeria |
| 3. Seoul, Republic of Korea (119.54) | | | | 6. Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 4. Oslo, Norway (115.39) | | | | 7. Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire |
| 5. Hong Kong, China (113.00) | | | | 8. Kinshasa Congo Democratic Rep |
| 6. Copenhagen, Denmark (112.63) | | | | 9. Luanda, Angola |
| 7. Moscow, Russia (110.35) | | | | 10.Oslo, Norway |
| 8. Geneva, Switzerland (110.06) | | | | When establishing a salary for a global assignment it |
| 9. Hamilton, Bermuda (109.63) | | | | is essential that the items the expatriate will actually |
| 10.Luanda, Angola (108.51) | | | | spend their salary on are included in the cost of living |
| This means that overall goods or services that cost | | | | calculation. Similarly the items that are provided for |
| USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of | | | | the expatriate should be excluded from the cost of |
| USD$126.63 in London, and USD$108.51 in Luanda. | | | | living calculation. If the incorrect items are included or |
| Overall Cost of Living Comparison – Bottom 10 | | | | excluded, large variations in the calculation of cost of |
| The bottom 10 (least expensive) cities for | | | | living are likely. As an example London is ranked as |
| expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living | | | | the most expensive global location in terms of overall |
| (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are: | | | | cost of living, but is only ranked 26th most expensive |
| 1. Harare, Zimbabwe (16.44) | | | | location for groceries. |
| 2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia (44.89) | | | | Africa and Asia are becoming relatively more |
| 3. Sanaa, Yemen (44.95) | | | | expensive than other global cities after lagging for |
| 4. Dushanbe, Tajikistan (51.24) | | | | decades; organisations need to factor this into |
| 5. Tripoli, Libya (53.22) | | | | expatriate pay calculations for global assignments. |