This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
Published on June 16, 2020, a Mercer survey revealed that Nairobi is among the top one hundred most expensive cities in the world for expatriates to live in.
According to the survey, Nairobi ranked 95th globally, behind Seychelles, Chad, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cote de Ivoire, Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Djibouti, Ghana, and Senegal.
Kenya's capital city is ranked 15th within the African continent.
Hong Kong topped the list of most expensive cities for expatriates, followed by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in the second position. Tokyo and Zurich remained in third and fourth positions, respectively, while Singapore dropped two places from last year to fifth.
New York City ranked sixth, moving up from the ninth place.
The Mercer 2020 cost of living survey measured the comparative costs of more than 200 items in each location, including food, alcohol, and tobacco, domestic supplies, housing, clothing and footwear, home services, utilities, personal care, transportation, recreation and entertainment.
Other cities appearing in the top 10 of Mercer's costliest cities for expatriates were Shanghai, Bern, Geneva, and Beijing.
The world's least expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer's survey, were Tunis, Windhoek, Tashkent, and Bishkek, which tied to rank 206.
“Border closings, flight interruptions, mandatory confinements, and other short-term disruptions have affected not only the cost of goods and services but also the quality of living of assignees,” said Ilya Bonic, Career President and Head of Mercer Strategy.
“Climate change, issues related to environmental footprint, and health system challenges have pushed multinationals to consider how a city's efforts around sustainability can impact the living conditions for their expatriate workers,” added Yvonne Traber, Global Mobility Product Solutions Leader at Mercer.
