Luanda: world's most costly city for expats

The survey by the Mercer consulting group is published annually to help companies assess compensation allowances for expatriate workers.

It compares the cost of over 200 items in 214 cities, including housing, food, transport and entertainment.

After being overtaken by Tokyo in last year's survey, oil-booming Luanda returned to the top ranking this year.

"Despite being one of Africa's major oil producers, Angola is a relatively poor country and yet it is expensive for expatriates to live there since imported goods can be costly," Barb Marder, a senior partner at Mercer, said in a statement.

"In addition, finding secure accommodation that meet the standards of expatriates can be challenging and quite costly," Marder added.

Moscow's high costs for rentals and imported goods accounted for its second-place ranking, with a luxury unfurnished two-bedroom apartment in the Russian capital costing US$4,600 a month and a cup of coffee costing US$8.29, Marder said.

Tokyo was the third most-expensive city in the survey, followed by Chad's capital N'Djamena, then Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, Zurich, Bern and Sydney.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge