Most expensive cities to live: Buenos Aires has lost 15 positions and is 168th in the world

The ranking of cities according to their 2021 cost of living, prepared by Mercer, revealed that Ashgabat is the most expensive city, displacing Hong Kong to second place. In the third, Beirut gained 42 places in the ranking following a severe and widespread economic recession caused by the worsening of several circumstances: the country’s biggest financial crisis, the Covid-19 and the port explosion. of Beirut in 2020. Tokyo and Zurich lost one place, that is to say, they went from third and fourth place, to fourth and fifth, respectively, and Shanghai came sixth , one more than last year. Singapore moved from fifth to seventh place.

Other cities that are Among the 10 most expensive for international employees are Geneva (8), Beijing (9) and Bern (10). According to the Mercer survey, the cheapest cities in the world are Tbilisi (207), Lusaka (208) and Bishkek, which ranks as the cheapest with 209.

U.S. cities have fallen in the rankings this year mainly due to currency fluctuations between March 2020 and March 2021, despite rising inflation of goods and services registered in the country. New York (14) ranked as the most expensive city in the United States, despite falling eight places from last year, followed by Los Angeles (20) and San Francisco (25).

Coastal cities sink four times faster

In Latin America, San Juan (89) has once again become the most expensive city in the region, despite having lost 23 jobs due to the deflation recorded in the second half of 2020 and very low inflation at the start of 2021, which affected its position in the ranking.

Cities like San Salvador (169), Bogotá (180) and Asunción (187), remain without major movements in the ranking, if not San José (124), Montevideo (132), Lima (150) and Mexico City (152) which descends 32 steps and now ranks 12th in the Latin American rankings. For its part, Brasilia (205) is the cheapest city in the region, replacing Managua.

Latin America is however cheaper this year in general, given the previous ranking: Buenos Aires has moved from 153rd place in the 2020 ranking to 168th place in the 2021 ranking. Santiago has moved from 134th place in 2020 to 108th place in the 2021 ranking. Montevideo has moved from 88th place in 2020 to 132nd in the 2021 ranking.

How the coronavirus pandemic has affected mental health and the role of cities

“It is important to mention that the ranking behaves naturally and undergoes movements every year. In other words, it is not that a city becomes more expensive or less expensive per se, but rather that the cost of its basket of expatriates is analyzed in relative terms compared to other cities ”, explained Agustina. Resano, leader in mobility practice for Mercer. Argentina.

“One element that influences position movements in the ranking is the exchange rate. In South American countries, for example, we see that the Chilean peso has appreciated against the US dollar from the previous ranking (March 2020), while the Argentine peso and the Uruguayan peso depreciated against the dollar during the same period. This allowed Santiago to recover positions in the standings. If we look at Latin America as a whole, we observe that the pattern is repeating itself, that is to say that the cities with the most valued currencies are those which have climbed in the rankings, ”he said. declared. Agustina Resano, from Mercer Argentina.

Countries affected by covid face high cost of vaccines

In Asia, the most expensive

More than half of the 10 most expensive cities are located in Asia. Ashgabat has climbed one position in this year’s ranking, becoming the most expensive city for international employees, both in Asia and globally. They are followed by Hong Kong (2), Tokyo (4), Shanghai (6), Singapore (7) and Beijing (9). Mumbai (78) is the most expensive city in India, although it has dropped 18 places in this year’s ranking due to the relative weakness of the Indian rupee compared to other cities in the ranking.

Covid-19 continues to disrupt international mobility without precedent, forcing companies to reassess how to manage a mobile workforce in a post-pandemic world. Data on the cost of living, mobility studies carried out demonstrate that there are other forms of international assignments and cross-border work arrangements to maintain your operations and workforce overseas.

The ranking is one of the most comprehensive in the world. New York is used as the reference city for all comparisons, and currency fluctuations are measured against the US dollar. The survey includes more than 400 cities around the world; this year’s ranking covers 209 cities on five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items at each location, including accommodation, transportation, food, clothing, housewares and entertainment.

CFE / ds