Consulting company MNRC, which specializes in consultations on the selection of personnel for the international sphere of business, as a rule, makes a rating list “The most expensive cities in the world” for foreigners every year. In the process of compiling this rating, the situation in more than 200 largest cities in the world on 6 continents is taken into account. At the same time, they are evaluated according to 200 parameters, the most important of which are considered: geographical location, cost of food, transportation, housing, clothing and medical services.
They also evaluate the most expensive cities in the world, starting from a comparison with the price of living in New York, the standard of living in which is considered basic.
So, the most expensive city in the world in 2012 is Tokyo, and the capital of Japan is located at the very first stage of this rating. In second place was Luanda (Angola), in third - Osaka, another city in Japan. Moscow took fourth place, but Geneva closes the top five - Geneva, the most beautiful city in Switzerland.
Important movements in the ranking of “The most expensive cities in the world” are more associated with fluctuations in the world currency exchange rate. So, life in most European cities has become cheaper due to the economic crisis in the European zone. The most significant drop in the cost of living index for foreigners was recorded in Athens, which once occupied the 24th place, but now it has already moved to the 77th!
Conversely, many cities in the Asia-Pacific region have significantly improved their position in the ranking of “The most expensive cities in the world.” The largest rise recorded in New Zealand and Australia. North America also boasts its growth in the ranking, thanks to the American dollar, which has strengthened more than all other world currencies.
According to the full list of the Most Expensive Cities of the World ranking, such places are oddly enough in Africa. Rather, this is due to the fact that the cost of living is based on a comparison of basic services, the prices of goods of certain brands that are purchased in these countries abroad, which makes it difficult to find. And therefore, they are quite expensive.
For example, Luanda, the capital of Angola, which is in second place in the rating , has very high prices for accommodation. And all because of high inflation and the unsatisfactory state of infrastructure, the fault of which was the civil war.
The cheapest for the lives of foreigners, according to MNRC, however, as in the past year, remains the Pakistani city of Karachi, where costs are three times lower than in Tokyo.
Well, in the first place in the ranking of “Cheapest Cities in the World” were two cities at once - Mumbai and, as we have said, Karachi. The second is Indian New Delhi, and the third is Nepal. Next comes Bucharest and Algeria. Behind them is Colombo (Sri Lanka), in seventh place is Panama, in eighth is Saudi Arabia, Jeddah and Tehran.
The main criteria by which the cheapest cities were selected are: the cost of travel in public transport, the cost of food, rental housing, the cost of clothing and utilities.