Cost of Living Rankings for January 2013 - Highlights

Tokyo in Japan is the overall most expensive city to live in for expatriates, while Thimphu in Bhutan, is the cheapest.
The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva remain second and third most expensive in the world respectively.
Luanda is the most expensive place to live as an expatriate excluding housing, education, medical and transport basket groups.

Key Regional Highlights:

The Americas:
Most expensive countries for expatriates to live in are: Venezuela; Bermuda; Cayman Islands; Montserrat; and Aruba
The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Caracas (Ninth most expensive in the world); New York (Manhattan); Hamilton; Sao Paulo; and George Town.
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Managua in Nicaragua (764 most expensive in the world).

Africa:
Most expensive countries for expatriates to live in are: Angola; DRC; Mozambique; Saint Helena; and Ghana.
The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Luanda (Fifth most expensive in the world); Abuja; Lagos; Kinshasa; and Kano.
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Tunis in Tunisia (773 most expensive in the world)

Asia-Pacific:
Most expensive countries for expatriates to live in are: Japan; Australia; Micronesia; New Caledonia; and New Zealand.
The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Tokyo (the most expensive in the world); Hong Kong; Yokohama; Osaka; and Nagoya
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Phnom Penh in Cambodia (761 most expensive in the world)

Europe:
Most expensive countries for expatriates to live in are: Switzerland; Norway; Liechtenstein; Denmark; and Jersey.
The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Zurich (Second most expensive in the world); Geneva; Monaco; London; and Oslo
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Bucharest in Romania (765 most expensive in the world)

The Middle East:
Most expensive countries for expatriates to live in are: Qatar; United Arab Emirates; Israel; Lebanon and Bahrain.
The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Doha (132 most expensive in the world); Abu Dhabi; Dubai; Jerusalem; and Beirut
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Sanaa in Yemen (717 most expensive in the world)

South Asia:
Most expensive countries for expatriates to live in are:  Maldives; Sri Lanka; India; Afghanistan; and Bangladesh.
The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Male (347 most expensive in the world); Mumbai; Colombo; New Delhi; and Kanpur.
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Thimphu in Bhutan (779 most expensive in the world).

Xpatulator.com’s Cost of Living rankings
The cost of living rankings are released every quarter and measure the comparative cost of living for expatriates in 780 locations, covering every country worldwide.  The cost of living comparison uses local prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services at or near each location, which is converted to a single currency. The prices are grouped together into baskets and the cost of living index calculated for each of these.

Top Ten Location Rankings Overall Cost Of Living - All Baskets:
1 Japan, Tokyo
2 Switzerland, Zurich
3 Switzerland, Geneva
4 China, Hong Kong
5 Angola, Luanda
6 Angola, All Areas
7 Switzerland, All Areas
8 Japan, Yokohama
9 Venezuela, Caracas
10 Japan, Osaka

For the full listing go here

This article can be republished with permission from Xpatulator.com