Oslo Passes Two Swiss Cities to Become the Most Expensive City in Europe

April 2014 has seen Oslo, Norway jumping ahead of both Zurich and Geneva to become the most expensive European city for expats in this region and the world. 

The latest rankings saw Oslo move from seventh in the last quarter to third, while Zurich fell from first among the World’s most expensive cities in mid-2013 to sixth.

The one similarity between the cities of Oslo, Zurich and Geneva is that despite being part of the European continent, they are neither part of the European Union nor part of the European Economic Community. This means that Norway like Switzerland is free to set its own economic policies, it can therefore maintain aggressive tax rates to fund social programs. It also actively pursues social objectives through taxes on tobacco, alcohol and gasoline.

Although Norway has high wage rates, it also has a high cost of living as well as high taxes. There is very little difference between the lowest paid 10% of workers and the highest paid 10%, wages for restaurant workers, teachers, service people and unskilled labor are high enough for most workers to live comfortably. This concept of a living wage is highly ingrained within the Norwegian Social Value system, but allows every "class" of citizen to have a good standard of living.

Xpatulator.com provides up-to-date cost of living data for over 700 locations worldwide.

Top Ten City Rankings for Europe

1. Oslo
2. Zurich
3. Geneva
4. Monaco
5. Moscow
6. Copenhagen
7. London
8. Vaduz
9. Stockholm
10. Paris

For the full cost of living rankings for Europe go here.

Switzerland, Geneva Cost of Living April 2010

Country Full Name: Swiss Confederation.

Location: Switzerland is in Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy.

Country Climate: Temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers.

Country Terrain: Mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes.

Major Languages: German, French, Italian, Romansch.

Major Religions: Christianity.

Country Population: 7.3 million (2008 est.) 7.3 million (2009 est.).

Country Economy: The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies. Its policy of long-term monetary security and bank secrecy has made Switzerland a safe haven for investors, creating an economy that is increasingly dependent on a steady tide of foreign investmen.

Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF).

Country Inflation: 2.4% (2008 est.) -0.4% (2009 est.).

City: Geneva is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

City Economy: Geneva's economy is mainly services oriented. The city has an important and old finance sector, which is specialized in private banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion USD) and financing of international trade.
Cost of Living: Geneva has an overall cost of living index which equates it with high cost of living locations. The overall cost of living index is comprised of the prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services across all 13 Basket Groups. Geneva is currently ranked 2 overall, most expensive place in the world for expatriates to live, out of 282 international locations.

For more cost of living information on Switzerland, Geneva