The most expensive place to live in April 2012 is Tokyo based on the overall cost of living, encompassing all cost of living baskets. Zurich is the most expensive based on the cost of living excluding the housing, education, healthcare and transport baskets. Many companies cover these costs on behalf of the employee while on international assignments.
The latest international cost of living rankings are based on data collected during the past 3 months for 780 international locations, covering every country world-wide.
The cost of living (COL) data collected is representative of an expatriate lifestyle. The components of the COL data are local prices for fixed quantities of the same goods and services in each location, local inflation and exchange rates. Prices in each location are affected by availability (i.e. supply & demand) as well as local pricing regulations and taxes on goods and services (e.g.premiums on luxury brands). Local inflation is usually representative of local price increases which in turn impacts an expatriates purchasing power in the host country. The exchange rate impacts both the price of imports to the host country and the expatriate assignment salary calculation between the home and host country. The cost of living has a significant impact on the purchasing power of an expatriate’s salary package.
As the overall most expensive place to live, Tokyo has an overall cost of living index of 151.23, followed by Hong Kong with 145.93, and Zurich with 134.72. The overall index is comprised of 13 different basket groups. The assumption using the overall index is that everything is paid from the salary package. In addition, the cost of living calculations are weighted according to typical monthly international expatriate spending patterns. The Household Accommodation Basket for example, has a weighting of 30%, while the Groceries Basket has a weighting of 16.5%. That means that an international expatriate who, for example, earns 10,000 would typically spend 3,000 (30% of 10,000) on housing and 1,650 on groceries.
Of the top 50 most expensive destinations to live based on the overall cost of living, Asia-Pacific has 28 locations, Europe 12, the Americas 8, and Africa 2. The most expensive city in the Middle East is Abu Dhabi ranked 72, while in South Asia it is Mumbai ranked 366.
The top 50 Most expensive locations to live – Overall Cost of Living & All Baskets:
- Japan, Tokyo
- China, Hong Kong
- Switzerland, Zurich
- Switzerland, Geneva
- Japan, Yokohama
- Switzerland, All Areas
- Australia, Sydney
- Japan, Osaka
- Venezuela, Caracas
- Australia, Canberra
- Japan, Nagoya
- Japan, Kobe
- Brazil, Sao Paulo
- Japan, Kyoto
- Japan, Kawasaki
- Australia, Perth
- Australia, Melbourne
- China, Shanghai
- Singapore, Singapore
- Norway, Oslo
- Venezuela, All Areas
- Liechtenstein, Vaduz
- Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
- Japan, Fukuoka
- United Kingdom, London
- Norway, All Areas
- Angola, Luanda
- Russia, Moscow
- USA, New York (Manhattan) NY
- Liechtenstein, All Areas
- Australia, Brisbane
- Japan, All Areas
- Denmark, Copenhagen
- Japan, Sapporo
- New Zealand, Wellington
- Angola, All Areas
- USA, New York (Brooklyn) NY
- New Zealand, Auckland
- Denmark, All Areas
- Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby
- Brazil, Brasilia
- Korea Republic of, Seoul
- Australia, Adelaide
- Korea Republic of, Daegu
- Korea Republic of, Incheon
- Australia, All Areas
- USA, Honolulu HI
- Taiwan, Taipei
- Korea Republic of, Busan
- Monaco, Monaco
Xpatulator.com is the most comprehensive source of international cost of living index information.
Premium Content Calculators:
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The COLA report calculates how much additional allowance (over and above your current salary) you need to earn in another location to compensate for a higher cost of living, hardship and the exchange rate, in order to have the same relative spending power and as a result have a similar standard of living as you have in your current location. Each new COLA report uses 1 credit ($99). Recommended for calculation of a cost of living allowance for short-term assignments.
The COLI report calculates cost of living indexes for the host locations you select, using the home location you specify. You can choose from any one of the 13 baskets or you can choose the overall cost of living index. Each new COLI report uses 1 credit ($99) allowing you to choose 1 home location and up to all available host locations.Recommended for the calculation of 3 or more cost of living indexes using your choice of base city.
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