Amsterdam getting increasingly expensive for expats

Amsterdam has become a little more expensive for expats to live in compared to 2015, according to Mercer’s 22nd annual Cost of Living Survey. The Dutch capital rose from 69th to the 64th place in the global ranking.

Hong Kong new #1

Hong Kong tops the list of most expensive cities for expatriates, pushing Luanda, Angola to second position. Zurich and Singapore remain in third and fourth positions, respectively, whereas Tokyo is in fifth, up six places from last year. Kinshasa, ranked sixth, appears for the first time in the top 10, moving up from 13th place.

Other cities appearing in the top 10 of Mercer’s costliest cities for internationals are Shanghai (7), Geneva (8), N’Djamena (9), and Beijing (10).

World's least expensive cities for expats

The world’s least expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer’s survey, are Windhoek (209), Cape Town (208), and Bishkek (207).

The survey considers factors including currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services and instability of accommodation prices, among other things. These contribute to the cost of expatriate packages for employees.

Mercer is an international consulting firm that conducts this survey annually to enable multinational companies and other employers to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.

Top 15 most expensive cities worldwide

These are the 15 most expensive for expats to live in:
1) Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2) Luanda, Angola
3) Zurich, Switzerland
4) Singapore, Singapore
5) Tokyo, Japan
6) Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of the Congo
7) Shanghai, China
8) Geneva, Switzerland
9) Ndjamena, Chad
10) Beijing, China
11) New York City, United States
12) Shenzhen China
13) Lagos, Nigeria
14) Bern, Switzerland
15) Seoul, South Korea