UK Cities Fall Below Rio De Janeiro, Bangkok and Dublin in Global Cost of Living Rankings

• UK cities fall dramatically by up to 68 places and out of top 100 global rankings
• Weak GBP causes Central London to drop to 132^nd, the lowest ever recorded by ECA International
• Luanda, Angola, takes the global top spot this year
• Swiss cities continue to dominate the global top 10

ECA International (ECA) today reveals that UK cities have dropped as much as 68 places from last year in the latest global Cost of Living rankings – thanks to the weakened British pound. Central London is now 132^nd in the world, down from 65^th last year, the lowest ever recorded since ECA first began publishing the Cost of Living rankings over 10 years ago.

Published by ECA, the world’s leading provider of information, software and expertise for the management and assignment of employees around the world, the Cost of Living Survey compares a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by international assignees in over 460 locations worldwide*. The survey allows businesses to ensure that their employees’ spending power is maintained when they are sent on international assignments. ECA International has been conducting research into cost of living for over 45 years.

ECA’s latest Cost of Living Survey indicates that Central London (132^nd) now sits just above Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in the global rankings and has been overtaken by Rio de Janeiro (88^th), Bangkok (116^th) and Dublin (120^th).

“Thanks to the weakened pound UK businesses are paying more to send staff to work overseas, but it is cheaper to bring staff to the UK,” said Steven Kilfedder, Production Manager, ECA International. “UK locations have seen the most dramatic decline in Europe this year and the fifth-largest decline in the world – behind cities in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana in Africa. All ranked UK cities have dropped below Paris, Berlin and Brussels in the Cost of Living rankings.”

UK city ranking highlights

Edinburgh has fallen to 165^th, Cardiff is now ranked at 175^th and Belfast has dropped to 186^th in ECA’s ranking.

Global highlights

Luanda is now the most expensive location in the world for expats
Luanda has risen from 8th position last year to top ECA’s global rankings this year.

“The cost of goods typically purchased by international assignees in Luanda, which were already high due to poor infrastructure and high oil-fuelled demand, have been pushed much higher in the last year. The Angolan kwanza is increasingly overvalued, which pushes up relative costs, while the continued weakness of the black-market exchange rate has also inflated the price of imported goods,” added Kilfedder.

Swiss cities continue to dominate the global top 10
Despite prices falling in the previous year, Swiss cities continue to dominate the global top 10 – with Zurich 3^rd, Geneva 4^th, Basel 5^th and Bern 6^th.

The relative decline of the euro between surveys has seen most Eurozone locations fall in the global rankings with French, Dutch and German destinations among those falling most in the past year. Berlin has seen the most significant decline in mainland Europe, falling by 28 places to 122^nd place.

Russia and Australia climb the Cost of Living rankings
The strengthened rouble has led to Moscow climbing the rankings by 125 places this year to 56^th. However, it has a long way to go to reach the heights of five years ago when it was ranked 13^th in the world.

Sydney remains the most expensive city in Australia. It currently ranks 50^th in the global rankings, up from 70^th place last year. All ranked locations within Australia rose in our global rankings this year, with Adelaide rising the most, by 34 places to 75^th position – although it is still the cheapest ranked location in Australia.

South American cities re-enter the top 100 most expensive in the world
Caracas in Venezuela climbed a dramatic 252 places in the past 12 months, now ranked 9^th in the world, “though this ranking is likely to change considerably in upcoming Cost of Living Surveys given ongoing exchange-rate volatility,” added Kilfedder.

Buenos Aires (35^th), Sao Paulo (85^th), Rio de Janeiro (88^th) and Montevideo (97^th) also re-entered the top 100 most expensive locations in the world, with Brasilia reaching 103^rd, up 106 places since last year.

Although falling a few places this year to 23^rd globally, Manhattan remains the most expensive location in North America for expatriates.

All surveyed locations in China remain in the top 100 most expensive in the world, with

Shanghai peaking at 13^th position. Even though all ranked Chinese cities fell in the global rankings this year, they’re far more expensive than five years ago – with cities there rising by over 52 places on average.

Global top 10 most expensive locations for expatriates

For more information visit www.eca-international.com.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:
*Certain living costs, such as accommodation rental, utilities, car purchases and school fees are usually covered by separate allowances. Data for these costs are collected separately and are not included in ECA’s Cost of Living basket.

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About ECA International (www.eca-international.com)
ECA International (ECA) is the leading provider of knowledge, information and technology that enables businesses to manage their international reward programmes.

Partnering with thousands of clients on every continent, ECA provides a fully-integrated suite of high quality data, specialist software, consultancy and training. ECA’s unparalleled insights guide clients as they mobilise their most valuable resource: people.

ECA makes the complex world of international mobility simple, providing clients with the expertise and support they need to make the right decisions – every time.

ECA International: Mobility solutions for a world that’s constantly moving.

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About ECA’s Cost of Living Survey
ECA International’s Cost of Living surveys are carried out in March and September using a basket of day-to-day goods and services commonly purchased by assignees. The data used above refers to year-on-year movements between ECA’s March 2012 to 2017 surveys. ECA’s Cost of Living Survey rankings began in 2005.

Cost of living indices are used by ECA clients to calculate cost of living allowances for assignees. The survey covers:

Food: Groceries; dairy produce; meat and fish; fresh fruit and vegetables
Basic: Household goods; recreational goods; general services; leisure services
General: Clothing; electrical goods; motoring; meals out; alcohol and tobacco

Certain living costs such as accommodation rental, utilities charges (electricity, gas, and water), car purchases and school fees are not included in the survey. Such items can make a significant difference to expenses but are usually compensated for separately in expatriate packages.

This comparison of cost of living was calculated on a base composed of various developed countries and is used to reflect an international lifestyle. Other indices available from ECA reflect specific city-to-city comparisons and different levels of shopping efficiency.

ECA’s blog provides updates and commentary on currency, inflation and expatriate cost of living. Follow the blog here: https://eca-international.com/insights/blogs