Top 20 most expensive places and cities for ex-pats to work abroad in 2022

Hong Kong has been named the most expensive city in which to live and work overseas this year, as per another report which highlights the effect of rising living expenses and deteriorating macroeconomic trends on the expatriate market. Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive spot for employees sent abroad to work, an survey showed corresponding the costs of 200 merchandise and products in excess of 400 cities.

The city rose one place in Mercer’s 2022 Price of the Living index to regain pole position subsequent to being bumped to second place in 2021 by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It denotes the fourth time in five years that the Asian financial hub has been ranked as the costliest area for overseas workers.

Mercer’s 2022 price for most everyday living city ranking uncovers the most expensive cities for international workers. It gives employers current, expansive, and solid data to assist them with navigating compensation strategies for their mobile employees in the erratic global markets.

Hong Kong’s resurgence was driven somewhat by rising inflationary tensions, which have pushed living prices higher across the globe. In the meantime, continuous Covid limitations and expanded political volatility have made it more expensive to repay staff who are posted there, Mercer partner Vince Cordova told.

Four Switzerland cities Zurich, Geneva, Basel, and Bern ranked second to the fifth spot respectively in Mercer’s Cost of Living Survey 2022.

Three other Asian Cities — Singapore, Tokyo, and Beijing — made the main 10, filling the 8th, 9th, and 10th spots individually. High rankings for the vast majority of Asian cities were driven by inflation and strong currencies, the administration consultancy said in its report.

Aside from this, Israel’s Tel Aviv bagged the 6th spot as the priciest place in the Middle East while New York City bagged the seventh spot.

“Part of it is the real estate market,” said Cordova, noticing that desirable accommodation has now become more costly, pushing up the expense of ex-pat packages.

“The other part is the cost of goods and services and also the political uncertainty. The people who are going to be there will need to spend more to live well,” he said.

The city was bumped 13 places in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index 2022 last week, in the midst of what the EIU cited as its deficiency of political and cultural freedom.

Hong Kong was the Asian outlier among the main five overwhelmed by Swiss cities in Mercer’s 2022 Cost of Living index: Zurich, Switzerland ranked as the world’s second most expensive city for overseas laborers, trailed by Geneva (3rd), Basel (4th) and Bern (5th).

Cordova said that was thanks to the strength of the Swiss franc, which has, as of not long ago, held consistent against a rising U.S. dollar, the benchmark currency in Mercer’s report.

How it works

Mercer’s every year price of living index, presently in its 28th year, is designed to assist companies and governments administrations with deciding pay packages for expatriate employees by estimating convenience costs and the cost of goods and services inside neighborhood markets against their overall expense in New York City.

The current year’s index ranked 227 cities and account the costs of in excess of 200 items — from categories like food, transportation, housing and personal care — as of March 2022.

Dissimilar to earlier years, Cordova said, the 2022 report likewise noticed the rising predominance of remote work, with additional companies involving it as a tool while choosing their adaptable working policies.

“One of the consequences of the pandemic was this concept of work from anywhere, with more employees now asking employers if they can support that,” he said.

“Companies now want some information on what the economic impact of that relocation would be, and that’s how we’re seeing mobility expand,” he added.

The report likewise showed the least expensive spots for unfamiliar workers to live which incorporated Turkey’s Ankara, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, and Dushanbe in Tajikistan.

The report said global issues including COVID-19, battle in Ukraine, conversion scale changes, and far and widespread were influencing employees’ salaries and savings, while the number of professionals moving to Asia throughout past 18 months had fallen.

Tracey Ma, Mercer’s Regional Mobility Leader for the Asia Pacific, said an ability to lack in created countries, which depend vigorously on unfamiliar laborers, could turn into an issue exacerbated by higher living expenses.

Mercer estimated the relative expense of in excess of 200 things — including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment — to come up with its ranking.

Here is a rundown of the 10 most expensive cities for ex-pats, as per Mercer’s findings.

The most costly cities for ex-pats

1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Geneva, Switzerland
4. Basel, Switzerland
5. Bern, Switzerland
6. Tel Aviv, Israel
7. New York City, United States
8. Singapore, Singapore
9. Tokyo, Japan
10. Beijing, China
11. Copenhagen, Denmark
12. Shanghai, China
13. Shenzhen, China
14. Seoul, South Korea
15. London, UK
16. Nassau, Bahamas
17. Los Angeles, US
18. Guangzhou, China
19. San Francisco, US
20. Honolulu, US

Ankara, Turkey (227th) ranked as the most expensive city to work abroad, trailed by Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (226th), Dushanbe, Tajikistan (225th), Islamabad, Pakistan (224th), and Karachi, Pakistan (223rd).