The 10 most expensive cities in world just became pricier

NEW JERSEY: Ashgabat is the second most expensive city in the world, according to this year’s Mercer Cost of Living Survey. Hong Kong remains in first place, despite almost continuous protests since it was crowned “most expensive” last year, foreign media reported.

This raises more questions than it answers: Where is Ashgabat? (It is the capital of Turkmenistan.) And why is it so expensive?

Turkmenistan is hardly a country that conveys lush living. And yet, in the past 12 months, it has overtaken Tokyo (now in third place), Zurich (fourth), Singapore (fifth) and New York (sixth). Meanwhile, further down the list, London (19) has been beaten by Lagos in Nigeria, while the most expensive city in Africa, Ndjamena in Chad, sits one place ahead of San Francisco (16).

What have we missed, you might ask. How are cities in Asia and Africa more expensive than the millionaire and billionaire capitals of London, New York and the like?

Before you book flights to Hong Kong, or look up real estate in Ashgabat, understand what makes them “expensive.” It is not necessarily a good thing.

Mercer monitors a “basket of goods” in each city, which includes everything from the price of rental accommodation to everyday items like blue jeans and Heineken beer

In the case of Ashgabat, “Turkmenistan has been witnessing an important economic and social crisis, combined with hyperinflation,” Mercer says. This means that the cost of importing food and raw materials has become pricier, upending the supply and demand balance. Hong Kong is costly thanks to its staggering real estate market, which is the most expensive in the world, according to real estate firm CBRE.

Hong Kong and Ashgabat are representative of a more general change though: Asia is getting more expensive. Tokyo (3), Singapore (5), Shanghai (7) and Beijing (10) affirms the continent’s dominance in the top 10.

Europe, meanwhile, is led by Switzerland. Zurich is Europe’s most expensive city in fourth place, followed by Bern (8) and Geneva (9). Thanks to the Swiss franc, no other European country gets a look-in.

New York in sixth place rounds off the top 10. The next most expensive US cities are Los Angeles (16) and San Francisco (17)

Coronavirus makes cities more expensive:

209 cities of the world included in Forbes latest survey. Pakistan’s 2 cities are in the list. Islamabad at # 200 and Karachi #205 which are least expensive.