Nepal, Kathmandu – Cost of Living

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Xpatulator

The economy of Nepal is reliant on external assistance. A long-standing economic agreement underpins a close relationship with India. The country receives foreign aid from India, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, China, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. Poverty is acute; per-capita income is less than US$470. Agriculture accounts for about 40% of Nepal’s GDP, services comprise 41% and industry 22%. Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce. The rate of unemployment and underemployment approaches half of the working-age population. Thus many Nepali citizens move to India in search of work; the Gulf countries and Malaysia being new sources of work.

Kathmandu is the capital and the largest metropolitan city of Nepal. Kathmandu is the most important industrial and commercial centre of Nepal and the headquarters of most companies, banks and organizations in the country are located here.

Kathmandu has an overall cost of living index which equates it with low 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.

The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.

Read More

Posted in Nepal | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Nepal, Kathmandu – Cost of Living

Clothing International Cost of Living Rank

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Xpatulator

This report provides you with the rank of Clothing cost of living indexes for 282 global locations. The indexes are calculated using the prices for specific quantities of the same goods and services in each location, based on expatriate spending patterns across 13 broad categories (Basket Groups).

Clothing costs include clothing and footwear products such as business suits, casual clothing, children’s clothing and footwear, coats and hats, evening wear, shoe repairs, and underwear.

The latest clothing international cost of living rank is now available.

Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nauru, Yaren – Cost of Living

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Xpatulator

Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation and joined the UN in 1999 as the world’s smallest independent republic. Revenues of Nauru have traditionally come from exports of phosphate rock. Primary phosphate reserves were exhausted, and mining ceased, but in 2006-07, mining of a deeper layer of secondary phosphate began. It is hoped that this economic activity might lift Nauru from the bottom rung of global GDP per capita. The only other major source of government revenue is sale of fishing rights in Nauru’s territorial waters.

Yaren is a district and constituency of the Pacific nation of Nauru. It is the de facto capital of Nauru. Yaren is listed as the de facto capital of Nauru as the republic does not have cities or an official capital. Yaren is accepted by the United Nations as the main district.

Yaren has an overall cost of living index which equates it with middle 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.

The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.

Read More

Posted in Nauru | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Nauru, Yaren – Cost of Living

Namibia, Windhoek – Cost of Living

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Xpatulator

Agriculture, herding, tourism and mining of precious stones and metals form the backbone of Namibia’s economy. Approximately half the population live below the international poverty line, and the nation has suffered heavily from the effects of HIV/AIDS, with approximately 15% of the adult population infected with HIV.

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. Windhoek is the social, economic, and cultural centre of the country.

Windhoek has an overall cost of living index which equates it with low 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.

The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.

Read More

Posted in Namibia | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Namibia, Windhoek – Cost of Living

Myanmar, Yangon – Cost of Living

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Xpatulator

Burma is one of the poorest nations in the world, suffering from decades of stagnation, mismanagement, and isolation.

Yangon is also known as Rangoon and is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Division. Yangon is the country’s main centre for trade, industry, real estate, media, entertainment and tourism. The city is Lower Myanmar?s main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise ? from basic food stuffs to used cars although commerce continues to be hampered by the city’s severely underdeveloped banking industry and communication infrastructure.

Yangon has an overall cost of living index which equates it with low 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.

The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.

Read More

Posted in Myanmar | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Myanmar, Yangon – Cost of Living

Mozambique, Maputo – Cost of Living

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Xpatulator

The economy of Mozambique has developed since the end of the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992), but the country is still one of the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped. Mozambique’s life expectancy and infant mortality rates are both among the worst ranked in the world due to the excessive malaria carrying mosquitoes.

Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. Maputo’s chief exports are coal, cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood. The city manufactures cement, pottery, furniture, shoes, and rubber. There is also a large aluminium smelting plant, Mozal.

Maputo has an overall cost of living index which equates it with middle 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.

The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.

Read More

Posted in Mozambique | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Mozambique, Maputo – Cost of Living

Salary Purchasing Power Parity

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Xpatulator

Internationally comparable cost of living data is crucial to forming sustainable expatriate pay policies and monitoring progress.  Market exchange rates give misleading comparisons because they do not reflect salary purchasing power differences. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) accounts for price differences between countries and so measures real quantities.

 

The purpose of an expatriate pay program is to maintain employee spending power and standard of living irrespective of global location. Salary Purchasing Power Parity (SPPP) is the amount of salary that equalizes the purchasing power of different currencies given the relative cost of the same basket of goods (cost of living) at the exchange rate versus one US Dollar.  This means that a given salary, when converted into different currencies at the SPPP rates, will buy the same basket of goods and services in all countries.

 

Currency exchange rates are highly volatile as they are based on short-term factors and are subject to substantial distortions from speculative movements, economic outlook and government interventions. Currency exchange rates, on their own, do not in our view reflect cost of living changes in the short-term. Exchange rates, even when averaged over a period of time such as a year, are not a good measure of the comparative value of a salary in relation to its comparative international purchasing power. In the short to medium term at least, apparent changes in the comparative level of remuneration between one country and another may be principally a function of changes in the exchange rate as opposed to cost of living.

 

The basket of goods and services used in SPPP calculations is derived on an International basis and includes certain items often excluded from expatriate cost of living data (most notably housing costs), however any or all of the 13 basket groups can be included or excluded from a calculation.  SPPP’s provide a reasonably good picture of the differences in standards of living for individual’s resident and paid in different countries.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Alcohol & Tobacco International Cost of Living Ranking

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Xpatulator

This report provides you with the rank of Alcohol & Tobacco cost of living indexes for 282 global locations. The indexes are calculated using the prices for specific quantities of the same goods and services in each location, based on expatriate spending patterns across 13 broad categories (Basket Groups).

Alcohol & Tobacco costs include alcoholic beverages such as alcohol at bar, beer, locally produced spirit, whiskey, and wine as well as tobacco products such as cigarettes.

The latest alcohol & tobacco international cost of living rank is now available.

Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Alcohol & Tobacco International Cost of Living Ranking

Morocco, Rabat – Cost of Living

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Xpatulator

The economy of Morocco is considered a relatively liberal economy. The services sector accounts for just over half of GDP and industry, made up of mining, construction and manufacturing, is an additional quarter. The sectors who recorded the highest growth are the tourism, telecoms and textile sectors. Morocco , however, still depends on agriculture which accounts for only around 14% of GDP but employs 40-45% of the Moroccan population.

Rabat is the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. Tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco serve to make Rabat the second most important city in the country after the larger and more economically significant Casablanca.

Rabat has an overall cost of living index which equates it with low 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.

The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.

Read More

Posted in Morocco | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Morocco, Rabat – Cost of Living

Africa Cost of Living – 2010

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Xpatulator

Africa’s most expensive city for expatriates, as at 1 July 2010, is Luanda in Angola (ranked 15 in the world) with a cost of living index of 106.17 (New York = 100). Luanda is particularly expensive for education, (ranked 3 in the world), accommodation (ranked 5 in the world), and healthcare (ranked 6 in the world). Luanda is rebuilding its infrastructure after years of war, which has contributed to making goods and services purchased by expatriates expensive, as a result of lack of availability, and the cost of bringing appropriate goods and services into the country. Libreville in Gabon (ranked 20 in the world) is Africa’s second most expensive city, followed by Bangui in the Central African Republic (ranked 25 in the world) and Moroni in the Comores (ranked 27 in the world). The cheapest city surveyed in Africa is Triploi in Libya (ranked 273 in the world).

Most expensive cities in Africa (Global rank in brackets)
1. Angola, Luanda (15)
2. Gabon, Libreville (20)
3. Central African Republic, Bangui (25)
4. Comores, Moroni (27)
5. Chad, N’Djamena (30)
6. Cameroon, Douala (52)
7. Mali, Bamako (56)
8. Congo, Brazzaville (60)
9. Cameroon, Yaounde (63)
10. Nigeria, Lagos (66)

Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Africa Cost of Living – 2010