A global cost of living comparison conducted by Xpatulator indicates 3 of the top 5 most expensive cities are in Asia, while London is the most expensive global city for expatriates. Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong are ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 5th respectively in terms of overall cost of living.

Groceries are the most expensive in Africa, with 6 of the 10 most expensive cities. New York on the other hand has dropped to 28th position in terms of overall cost of living, and 61st in terms of groceries.

The cost of living comparison prices goods and services that expatriates spend their salaries on, and creates indexes for 13 different basket groups using New York as the base (i.e. New York is equal to 100)

Cost of Living Comparison - Top 10 Overall

The 10 most expensive global cities for expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are:

1. London, United Kingdom (126.63)
2. Tokyo, Japan (121.88)
3. Seoul, Republic of Korea (119.54)
4. Oslo, Norway (115.39)
5. Hong Kong, China (113.00)
6. Copenhagen, Denmark (112.63)
7. Moscow, Russia (110.35)
8. Geneva, Switzerland (110.06)
9. Hamilton, Bermuda (109.63)
10.Luanda, Angola (108.51)

This means that overall goods or services that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of USD$126.63 in London, and USD$110.35 in Moscow.

New York has dropped primarily due to the weakness of the US Dollar as well as the economic slowdown which appears to have slowed the increase in prices relative to other global cities.

Cost of Living Comparison - Bottom 10 Overall

The 10 least expensive cities for expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are:

1. Harare, Zimbabwe (16.44)
2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia (44.89)
3. Sanaa, Yemen (44.95)
4. Dushanbe, Tajikistan (51.24)
5. Tripoli, Libya (53.22)
6. Quito, Ecuador (53.23)
7. Buenos Aires, Argentina (53.25)
8. La Paz, Bolivia (53.54)
9. Asmara, Eritrea (54.49)
10.Tashkent, Uzbekistan (56.06)

This means that overall, goods or services that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of just USD$16.44 in Harare, and USD$53.25 in Buenos Aires.

However the cost of living not only varies from one city to another, but also varies by type of expense, due to local supply and demand variations in each city. In some citys, accommodation is more costly while groceries are relatively less costly and vice versa.

In terms of groceries Seoul is the most expensive, while Africa has Brazzaville, Accra, Lagos, Abidjan, Kinshasa, and Luanda in the top 10.

Cost of Living Comparison - Top 10 Grocery Index

The top 10 most expensive global cities for expatriates to live based on the price of groceries as at March 2008 are as follows:

1. Seoul, Republic of Korea
2. Brazzaville, Congo
3. Ashgabat Turkmenistan
4. Accra, Ghana
5. Lagos, Nigeria
6. Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
8. Kinshasa Congo Democratic Rep
9. Luanda, Angola
10.Oslo, Norway

Although London is the most expensive global city in terms of overall cost of living, it is only ranked 26th most expensive city for groceries. It is important when conducting a cost of living comparison that only those items the expatriate will spend their salary on are included in the calculation, and that those benefits that are provided for the expatriate are excluded from the cost of living comparison.

Organisations need to take into account that locations in Asia and Africa are increasingly becoming more expensive in terms of cost of living for expatriates when establishing expatriate pay for international assignments.