The most expensive countries in 2023 have a number of factors in common, that make them so expensive, including:

High salaries: The average salary in these countries is typically much higher than in other parts of the world. This means that people have more money to spend, which drives up prices.
High taxes: Taxes are also typically higher in these countries, which contributes to the high cost of living.
Limited space: Many of these countries are small and densely populated, which limits the amount of land available for development. This drives up the cost of housing and other goods and services.
High demand: These countries are also popular tourist destinations, which drives up demand for goods and services. This can also lead to higher prices.

In addition to these factors, the high cost of living in these countries is also due to their strong economies and high standards of living. These countries are home to many multinational corporations and/or financial institutions, which contribute to their economic prosperity. The high standards of living in these countries are also a result of their strong economies and high levels of education.

The most expensive countries as at April / May / June 2023 are:

Hong Kong: Hong Kong is a major financial and trading hub, and its economy is one of the strongest in the world. The city is also home to a large number of wealthy people, which drives up prices.
Cayman Islands: The Cayman Islands is a tax haven, which means that businesses and individuals can avoid paying taxes on their income. This attracts a lot of wealthy people and businesses to the islands, which drives up prices.
Singapore: Singapore is a small city-state with a very high population density. This limits the amount of land available for development, which drives up the cost of housing and other goods and services. Singapore also has a strong economy and high standards of living, which contribute to its high cost of living.

Singapore is the most expensive country-state in the world for Expatriate’s to live, with an overall cost of living index of 130 (where New York City has an index of 100), followed by Hong Kong and Lebanon.

Singapore has moved another 3 points above Hong Kong’s index of 125 since April 2022, to have a cost of living index 5 points higher than the second most expensive country-state.

Lebanon has experienced a cost of living crises in the past few years, and is now the third most expensive country-state in the world as at 1 July 2022 with a cost of living index of 111.

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The 10 most expensive #costofliving cities in the world:

1. #Singapore
2. #HongKong
3. #Manhattan
4. #SanFrancisco
5. #Beirut
6. #GeorgeTown
7. #Zurich
8. #SanJose
9. #Jerusalem
10. #Geneva

The 10 most expensive #costofliving countries / states:

1. #Singapore
2. #HongKong
3. #CaymanIslands
4. #Lebanon
5. #Monaco
6. #Israel
7. #Switzerland
8. #Norway
9. #Hawaii
10. #Bahamas

The 10 most expensive #costofliving cities in #Africa:

1. #Victoria
2. #Luanda
3. #Kinshasa
4. #Libreville
5. #NDjamena
6. #Mogadishu
7. #Abuja
8. #Bangui
9. #Harare
10. #Monrovia

The 10 most expensive #costofliving cities in #America:

1. #Manhattan
2. #SanFrancisco
3. #GeorgeTown
4. #SanJose
5. #Honolulu
6. #Brooklyn
7. #NewYorkCity
8. #Nassau
9. #Oakland
10. #Hamilton

The 10 most expensive #costofliving cities in #AsiaPacific:

1. #Singapore
2. #HongKong
3. #Shanghai
4. #Macao
5. #Tokyo
6. #Yokohama
7. #Beijing
8. #Ashgabat
9. #Osaka
10. #Seoul

The 10 most expensive #costofliving cities in #Europe:

1. #Zurich
2. #Geneva
3. #Monaco
4. #Oslo
5. #Copenhagen
6. #London
7. #Paris
8. #Vaduz
9. #Amsterdam
10. #Reykjavik

The 10 most expensive #costofliving cities in #MiddleEast:

1. #Beirut
2. #Jerusalem
3. #AbuDhabi
4. #Dubai
5. #Doha
6. #WestBank
7. #Amman
8. #Manama
9. #KuwaitCity
10. #Riyadh

The 10 most expensive #expat #costofliving places for #alcohol #tobacco items such as #beer, #spirits, #wine & #cigarettes:

1. #Ashgabat
2. #Doha
3. #Amman
4. #Beirut
5. #Singapore
6. #Manama
7. #Sydney
8. #Dubai
9. #Wellington
10. #Jakarta

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #clothing #suits #dresses #shoes #footwear:

1. #Ashgabat
2. #Incheon
3. #Daegu
4. #Seoul
5. #Singapore
6. #Busan
7. #Monaco
8. #Geneva
9. #Zurich
10. #Paris

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #communication #telephone #internet #mobile costs:

1. #Asmara
2. #Noumea
3. #GeorgeTown
4. #Havana
5. #Bangui
6. #Nassau
7. #Honiara
8. #Hamilton
9. #Sydney
10. #SaintGeorges

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #education #creche #internationalschool #schoolfees:

1. #Singapore
2. #Bangui
3. #WashingtonDC
4. #NDjamena
5. #Oslo
6. #Jerusalem
7. #SanJose
8. #SanFrancisco
9. #GeorgeTown
10. #Nassau

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #furniture #appliance #diningtable #homeentertainment #kitchenappliances:

1. #Ashgabat
2. #Beirut
3. #Harare
4. #Kingston
5. #Luanda
6. #Singapore
7. #Vilnius
8. #Victoria
9. #AddisAbaba
10. #Noumea

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #grocery #cleaningproducts #dairy #freshfruit #vegetables #snacks #softdrinks:

1. #Beirut
2. #Ashgabat
3. #Singapore
4. #Seoul
5. #Busan
6. #Incheon
7. #Daegu
8. #Luanda
9. #HongKong
10. #GeorgeTown

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #healthcare #medical #doctorvisit #hospital stay #medicine #medicalinsurance:

1. #Anchorage
2. #SanFrancisco
3. #SanJose
4. #Seattle
5. #Oakland
6. #Kennewick
7. #Salem
8. #Beijing
9. #Honolulu
10. #Shanghai

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #accommodation #house #villa #apartment #rent #utilities #energyprices:

1. #HongKong
2. #Shanghai
3. #Manhattan
4. #Singapore
5. #SanFrancisco
6. #Macao
7. #Monaco
8. #Taipei
9. #Yokohama
10. #Nagoya

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #drycleaning #linen #magazines #newspapers #officesupplies #postagestamps:

1. #Singapore
2. #Bangui
3. #NDjamena
4. #Hanoi
5. #Oslo
6. #HoChiMinhCity
7. #Bissau
8. #Freetown
9. #PortauPrince
10. #Manhattan

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #personalcare #cosmetics #haircare #toiletries:

1. #Havana
2. #Beijing
3. #Luanda
4. #Oslo
5. #Manhattan
6. #Lagos
7. #Shenzhen
8. #Wuhan
9. #Kano
10. #Ibadan

The 10 most expensive #expat places for #recreation #culture #books #cinema #sport #theater:

1. #Ashgabat
2. #Dubai
3. #Honiara
4. #AbuDhabi
5. #Monaco
6. #Jerusalem
7. #Zurich
8. #Mecca
9. #KuwaitCity
10. #Jeddah

The 10 most expensive #expatriate places for #transport #fuel #petrol #gasoline #publictransport:

1. #Amsterdam
2. #GeorgeTown
3. #Castries
4. #Copenhagen
5. #Oslo
6. #Zurich
7. #Geneva
8. #Kingstown
9. #Hagatna
10. #Stockholm

Singapore is the most expensive city in the world for Expatriate’s to live, with an overall cost of living index of 139.78. Singapore’s education system, which is widely regarded as the best in the world, is also the most expensive for expatriates when priced in US Dollars, the cost of housing is also extremely high due to the limited space and premium on high quality expatriate accommodation, while the complex Certificate of Entitlement system makes car prices excessive, resulting in Singapore’s transport costs being amongst the highest in the world.

International City Cost of Living for Expatriate Professional Migrants

Africa Expat Cost of Living Comparison

Overall African countries are some of the poorest and least developed in the world, with relatively low local cost of living expenses; however the cost of importing and transporting the international standard of goods that expatriates expect to purchase in the cities in this region makes it extremely expensive to maintain the lifestyle that they are used to.

America Expat Cost of Living Comparison

Overall American countries and cities are extremely diverse ranging from the most developed, wealthy, technologically advanced and urbanised, through to some of the poorest, least developed as well as remote locations in the world, with a corresponding wide range in the cost of living. The cost of living is very high in high density, popular locations where demand for limited space, goods and services (housing, transport, education etc) often exceeds supply such as in San Francisco, Manhattan and San Jose. However in the most remote as well as in the poorest, least developed locations, the cost of importing, transporting and providing the international standard of goods and services that expatriates demand, also make them extremely expensive locations to maintain the lifestyle that they are used to.

Asia Pacific Expat Cost of Living Comparison

Asia Pacific has 2 of the 3 most expensive cities in the world. The cost of living for expats is particularly high in densely populated, popular wealthy locations where the demand for limited space, goods and services (housing, transport, education etc) exceeds supply such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

Europe Expat Cost of Living Comparison

With a few exceptions, the most expensive cities in Europe are mostly the Non-Euro countries.

The euro is the second most traded currency in the world, managed by one central bank, the European Central Bank. The cost of living is generally more reasonable in the larger countries in Europe who use the euro as their currency. Their larger companies produce more at a lower cost, thus benefiting from economies of scale. They export their cheaper goods to the less-developed eurozone nations. Smaller companies in smaller European countries find it difficult to compete with relatively low prices. On the other hand the euro allows countries with weaker or smaller economies to enjoy lower interest rates because the euro isn’t as risky to investors as a currency with less demand. Over the years, lower interest rates have led to more foreign investment. This has boosted the smaller nations’ economies.

Middle East Expat Cost of Living Comparison

Overall Middle East countries have average local cost of living levels; however the cost of importing and transporting the international standard of goods that expatriates expect to purchase in the cities in this region can make it relatively expensive to maintain the lifestyle that they are used to.

For more

Hong Kong is the most expensive city for Expats in the world as at July 2020, mainly due to extremely high housing costs (which counts for around 30% of the overall cost of living for most Expats), with limited space available making rentals high.

More on global city cost of living.

More on global country cost of living.

The latest international inflation data for every country in the world as reported in July 2020.

Kinshasa in the DRC is the most expensive city to live in the African region as at July 2020.

New York (Manhattan) NY is the most expensive location in the Americas as at July 2020.

Hong Kong is the most expensive city for Expats in Asia-Pacific as at July 2020.

Zurich is Europe‘s most expensive city.

Jerusalem in Israel is the most expensive place for expats in the Middle East as at July 2020.