Rapid Cost of Living Increases in Africa and Asia

by Steven McManus
~ it's more expensive to be an expat ~



Cities in Africa and Asia have become more expensive for expatriates relative to cities in the US, says a cost of living comparison of 228 global cities.

The global cost of living comparison conducted by Xpatulator.com shows London is the most expensive global location for expatriates, while 3 of the top 5 most expensive cities are in Asia, with Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 5th respectively in terms of overall cost of living.


In terms of overall cost of living, New York is now the 28th most expensive global city and the 61st in terms of groceries. New York has dropped primarily due to the weakness of the US Dollar as well as the economic slowdown which appears to have slowed the increase in prices relative to other global cities.


The cost of living comparison prices goods and services that expatriates spend their salaries on, and reports indexes for 13 different basket groups using New York (100) as the base.

Overall Cost of Living Comparison – Top 10

The 10 most expensive global cities for expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are:

1. London, United Kingdom (126.63)
2. Tokyo, Japan (121.88)
3. Seoul, Republic of Korea (119.54)
4. Oslo, Norway (115.39)
5. Hong Kong, China (113.00)
6. Copenhagen, Denmark (112.63)
7. Moscow, Russia (110.35)
8. Geneva, Switzerland (110.06)
9. Hamilton, Bermuda (109.63)
10.Luanda, Angola (108.51)

This means that overall goods or services that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of USD$126.63 in London, and USD$108.51 in Luanda.

Overall Cost of Living Comparison – Bottom 10

The bottom 10 (least expensive) cities for expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are:

1. Harare, Zimbabwe (16.44)
2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia (44.89)
3. Sanaa, Yemen (44.95)
4. Dushanbe, Tajikistan (51.24)
5. Tripoli, Libya (53.22)

6. Quito, Ecuador (53.23)

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina (53.25)

8. La Paz, Bolivia (53.54)

9. Asmara, Eritrea (54.49)

10.Tashkent, Uzbekistan (56.06)


This means that overall, goods or services that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of just USD$16.44 in Harare, and USD$53.54 in La Paz.

The cost of living varies from one location to another and by type of expense, mainly due to local supply and demand variations in each location. In some cities, groceries are more costly while accommodation is relatively less costly and vice versa.

In terms of groceries Seoul is the most expensive. Africa however has 6 of the 10 most expensive cities, Brazzaville, Accra, Lagos, Abidjan, Kinshasa, and Luanda.

Grocery Cost of Living Comparison – Top 10


The top 10 (most expensive) global cities for expatriates to live using the price of groceries as at March 2008 are as follows:

1. Seoul, Republic of Korea
2. Brazzaville, Congo

3. Ashgabat Turkmenistan

4. Accra, Ghana

5. Lagos, Nigeria

6. Copenhagen, Denmark

7. Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
8. Kinshasa Congo Democratic Rep

9. Luanda, Angola

10.Oslo, Norway


This analysis shows that when establishing a salary for a global assignment it is essential that the items the expatriate will actually spend their salary on be included in the cost of living calculation. Similarly the items that are provided for the expatriate should be excluded from the cost of living calculation. If the incorrect items are included or excluded, large variations in the calculation of cost of living are likely. As an example London is ranked as the most expensive global location in terms of overall cost of living, but is only ranked 26th most expensive location for groceries.

Cities in Africa and Asia are becoming relatively more expensive than other global cities, in terms of cost of living for expatriates; organisations need to factor this into expatriate pay calculations for global assignments.

The rank of all 228 global cities, in terms of overall cost of living, is on the website at http://www.xpatulator.com/main/locations/

About the Author: Steven McManus has been an Information and Reward Consultant to over 100 organisations for over a decade. Steven runs the most comprehensive global relocation calculator available, an internet service that is used primarily to calculate expatriate salary levels for global assignments, which can be found at http://www.xpatulator.com . This site includes free location overviews, cost of living, and hardship rankings for 228 global cities.