Thought living in Dubai or Abu Dhabi was pricey? Wait until you see this list.
American asset management firm Mercer has revealed the results of its 2021 Cost of Living survey, revealing the most expensive (and least expensive) cities in the world for 2021.
The 2021 ranking, which includes 209 cities across five continents, measured the comparative costs of more than 200 goods and services in each location, and the survey has revealed that the most expensive city for 2021 is – wait for it – Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.
Things have changed a lot in the past year due to COVID-19 and Mercer conducted special analyses on the categories of goods that saw a relative increase in demand as the pandemic affected consumer buying habits.
The price analysis focused on three special baskets of products, including popular “comfort food,” cleaning supplies, and home entertainment.
Dubai, which previously ranked at number 23, has dropped 19 places and is now the 42nd most expensive city to live in for 2021.
Abu Dhabi also dropped 17 places and went from being the 39th most expensive city to the 56th most expensive city in the world for 2021.
According to Mercer’s 2021 Cost of Living city ranking, the top 20 most expensive cities in the world right now are as follows:
1. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
2. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
3. Beirut, Lebanon
4. Tokyo, Japan
5. Zurich, Switzerland
6. Shanghai, China
7. Singapore, Singapore
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Beijing, China
10. Bern, Switzerland
11. Seoul, South Korea
12. Shenzhen, China
13. Ndjamena, Chad
14. New York City, United States
15. Tel Aviv, Israel
16. Copenhagen, Denmark
17. Guangzhou, China
18. London, United Kingdom
19. Lagos, Nigeria
20. Libreville, Gabon
And the ten least expensive cities for 2021?
200. Banjul, Gambia
201. Karachi, Pakistan
202. Gaborone, Botswana
203. Tashkent, Uzbekistan
204. Windhoek, Namibia
205. Brasilia, Brazil
206. Tunis, Tunisia
207. Tbilisi, Georgia
208. Lusaka, Zambia
209. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Want to find out where your home city ranks? You can check out the list of rankings here.
For your up-to-the-minute guide to what’s happening in Dubai, head here. For Abu Dhabi click here, for Sharjah click here.
mercer.com.
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