INTERNATIONAL REWARD
Worldwide cost-of-living survey 2007
Moscow is the world's most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
London has climbed three places to second position, while Seoul has moved down one place in the ranking to take third place. Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city for the fifth year running.
With New York as the base city with 100 points, Moscow scores 134.4 and is over two-and-a-half times costlier than Asuncion, which has an index of 50. Even so, the gap between the world's most and least expensive cities appears to be narrowing.
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Mercer's survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
Download the top 50 rankings at www.mercerhr.com/costofliving.
A final word
"There have been some significant changes in the ranking since last year. These are primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations - in particular, the weakening of the US dollar and strengthening of the Euro. As companies continue to send employees on expatriate assignments, they must closely monitor changes in cost of living to ensure their expatriate compensation packages are fair and competitive." - Rebecca Powers, principal and senior consultant, Mercer.
Want to know more?
Title: Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Survey details: The figures for Mercer's cost-of-living comparisons are based on a survey conducted in March 2007 and a similar survey conducted in March 2006. The information is used by governments and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad.
Availability: Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed. For further information or to purchase copies of the city reports, visit www.mercerHR.com/costofliving, or call Information Product Solutions, Geneva on tel: +41 22 869 3000.
Take a look at the press release online here.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a “global leader for HR and related financial advice and services”. It has more than 15,000 employees serving clients in more than 180 cities and 42 countries and territories worldwide. To find out more visit www.mercerhr.com.