The most expensive cities worldwide - 2023
Expat cost of living ranking
Ranking
EuroCost International's annual cost of living ranking compares expat living costs in major locations worldwide, including housing costs but excluding health and education costs.
The 2023 ranking is based on prices recorded in June 2023 and updated on the basis of September 2023 exchange rates. 283 locations have been considered for this ranking.
Key points
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The city of Hong Kong is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates in 2023. It holds the leading position for the third year in a row, ahead of Geneva and New York. The Swiss city is now three positions higher in the ranking, while New York, which was in 2nd position in 2022, lost one spot.
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In 4th position, Singapore maintains the same position as last year. The Asian city is ranked behind Geneva, but is now ahead of San Francisco which moves down to 6th position.
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The city of London is in 5th place, while it was only coming in 12th place last year. It remains the most expensive city in Europe. The good performance of the pound sterling partly explains this improvement in the ranking.
The city of Hong Kong is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates in 2023. It holds the leading position for the third year in a row, ahead of Geneva and New York. The Swiss city benefits from the favourable behaviour of the Swiss franc, which strengthened against the euro and particularly against the US dollar. It is now three positions higher in the ranking. On the other hand, the city of New York, which was in 2nd position in 2022, lost one spot.
In 4th position, Singapore maintains the same position as last year. The Asian city is ranked behind Geneva, but is now ahead of San Francisco which moves down to 6th position.
The city of London is in 5th place, while it was only coming in 12th place last year. It remains the most expensive city in Europe. The good performance of the pound sterling partly explains this improvement in the ranking.
The US dollar lost 7.8% against the euro since the release of our ranking in 2022. Despite this decline, eleven American cities can be found in the world top 30 positions. The largest cities of the United States still remain very expensive for expatriates, especially because of a significant increase of rental costs.
Several European capitals reach the top 30 this year. This is the case for Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital, which appears in 21st position. We also find Copenhagen in 23rd position. The Danish capital is the most expensive city in the European Union. Finally, Amsterdam reaches the 29th place. The capital of the Netherlands is the most expensive city in the euro zone.
In contrast, some currencies strongly devaluated, leading to the decline of many cities in the ranking. Moscow, ranked 7th in 2022, leaves our top 30 worldwide ranking due to the weakening of the Russian rouble. The same goes for the capital of Angola, Luanda, which ranked in 6th place last year.
Regional rankings
Africa
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The most expensive city in Africa in 2023 is the city of Bangui, in the Central African Republic. Ranked only 5th of this area in 2022, it benefits from the stability of its currency (the CFA franc) against the euro. Indeed, many currencies in African countries significantly weakened over the past year. This is the case for example in Angola and Nigeria. Because of currency loss, the capital cities of these countries, Luanda and Lagos, leave the top 10 in the African zone. The city of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is in 2nd position in this regional ranking, in spite of the fall of the Congolese franc which depreciated sharply in the past few months. The next most expensive African cities are the capitals of Guinea (Conakry), Chad (Ndjamena) and Mozambique (Maputo). In the lowest ranked cites, South African cities (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria) are currently the less expensive, mostly because of the decrease of the local currency. |
Americas
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The first positions in the American ranking are dominated by 10 cities in the United States. New York remains the most expensive city, just ahead of San Francisco and the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu. Unlike last year, the US dollar significantly weakened against the euro, leading to a decrease of the cost of living in the United States compared to European cities. In Canada, the city of Toronto is still the most expensive city in the country. It should be noted that the Canadian dollar has dropped in value against the euro, but also against the US dollar. In Argentina, the Argentinian peso fails to stabilize. The inflation is still high in the capital Buenos Aires. The situation is also extremely complicated in Caracas in Venezuela, with a volatile currency and soaring prices. Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, is still the least expensive city in the area according to this year's ranking.
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Asia-Oceania
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Once against this year, the city of Hong Kong is the most expensive city in the Asia-Oceania area, but also the most expensive city in the world for expatriates. The Hong Kong dollar lost in value against the euro over the 12 past months, but remains stable against the US dollar. The next most expensive cities in this area are Singapore and Seoul. It should also be noted that three Chinese cities are included in the top 10: Shanghai is the most expensive one in this country, ahead of Beijing and Guangzhou. In Laos, the local currency strongly devaluated once again this year, making the capital Vientiane the less expensive city in Asia. In Oceania, the most expensive city is the Australian city of Sydney. It is followed by Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.
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Europe
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Swiss cities are among the most expensive cities in Europe. We thus can find five Swiss cities in the top 10 of European cities, where Geneva is leading the ranking. In 2nd position, the city of London, is still very expensive for expatriates. The cost of dwellings, a sharp inflation and a continued strong value of the pound explain this trend. Within the European Union, the Danish capital, Copenhagen, is still the most expensive city. Amsterdam is leading the ranking in the euro zone, ahead of Vienna and Paris. The city of Pristina, capital of Kosovo, is the cheapest city in Europe for expatriates among the cities listed in our ranking.
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Middle East
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Despite a major drop of its local currency, the Israeli city of Tel Aviv still remains the most expensive city in the Middle East area. Then comes the city of Amman in Jordan, and the city of Jerusalem. In Lebanon, the inflation rate is always very high, and the capital Beirut remains a city with a high cost of living. At the bottom of the ranking, the city of Lahore in Pakistan is among the less expensive cities in the world.
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Our methodology
EuroCost International's cost of living surveys aim at comparing the cost of living for expatriates worldwide. They cover the whole basket of goods and services consumed by expatriates, excepted health and school costs (specific reports are provided for the latter).
The ranking is based on surveys conducted in June 2023 and includes rental costs. It should be noted that the rent prices used in this study are those paid by expatriates and that they are not representative for average rents paid by local inhabitants of the surveyed locations.
Rent prices used for this ranking are average rents for different types of housing favoured by expatriates and collected in the specific areas where they live. In some cities, prices for a specific type of housing can significantly differ from one area to another. This is for example the case for London, Mumbai and New York. Detailed information per city can be obtained in EuroCost International's rent surveys.