World’s 25 Most Expensive Cities, 2007¹

Moscow tops Mercer’s cost of living list; London is close behind

Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. London is in second position, climbing three places since last year. Seoul moves down one place in the ranking to take third place, followed by Tokyo in fourth. Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city for the fifth year running.

Mercer’s annual Cost of Living Survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, 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 allowances for their expatriate employees.

Top 50 rankings

Europe, Middle East, Africa: Europe dominated the top 50, with 30 cities on the list and capturing six spots in the top 10. Strong currencies helped push most European cities higher for 2007.

Africa placed five cities in the top 50, with Douala, Cameroon, on top with a rank of 24. Four of the African cities climbed in the rankings while Lagos, Nigeria, dropped from 31 to 37.

Four cities in the Middle East were in the top 50 for 2007, led by Tel Aviv, Israel, in 17th place. Istanbul, Turkey, took the biggest drop in the top 50, from 15th to 38th.

Asia: Eight Asian cities were on the top 50 list, led by Seoul, Korea, in third place. The biggest mover was Taipei, Taiwan, which dropped from 28th to 48th.

Americas: Only two U.S. cities made the list (New York City at 15th and Los Angeles at 42nd) thanks to the weak U.S. dollar. No Canadian or Latin American cities were in the top 50.

Australia:Sydney was the lone representative in the top 50, placing 21st.

Mercer Human Resource Consulting

Cost of Living Survey — Worldwide Ranking 2007 (including housing)

Top 25 - Base City: New York, USA (=100)

Greg Mundis, D.Min., Springfield, Missouri

Note

1. Mercer Human Resource Consulting, “Moscow Tops Mercer’s Cost of Living List; London is Close Behind”; available from http://www.mercerhr.com/summary.jhtml?idContent=1095320; accessed 6 September 2007. Used by permission.