London: A recent study by mercer group has ranked Karachi as the least expensive city in the world. The living expenses of Karachi have been estimated as being three times cheaper than those in Luanda, the capital of Angola which retains the title of being the world’s most expensive city for emigrants.Oil-rich Angola is a very attractive place for foreigners where high prices are further subject to inflation on account of heavy imports. The domestic production of Angola is far behind that of its neighbors due to a 27-year-long civil war which has devastated its infrastructure.
Chadian capital N’Djamena has been ranked third with Moscow being placed at fourth and Geneva fifth.
Paris has become less expensive according to the study, a it is now ranked as 27th while not much difference was noted for London which dropped by just one place to 18th. The most expensive city of USA is New York which has an international ranking of 32nd.
In most Western European cities the cost of living for expatriates has remained relatively stable over the last 12 months according to senior researcher of Mercer, Nathalie Constantin-Metraln
“However, many of the region’s cities have still dropped in the ranking. In large, this is because all cities are compared to New York and price increases there have been more significant than in most European cities,” she added.
As for Australian cities, the study suggested a rise in ranking, a result of the local currency’s 14 per cent gain against the US dollar.
The report, which is published annually to help companies assess compensation allowances for expatriate workers, compared the cost of over 200 items including housing, food and transport in 214 cities, using New York as a reference.
