Angola has topped the chat as the most expensive country for expatriates in Africa. Although the country dropped off the top spot on the global list, remained the highest ranking city in Africa.
explaining the changes in this year’s research outcome,Mercer’s Global Mobility Leader for Africa, Carl Van Heerden attributed the changes to various reasons including exchange rates and inflation cost.
“Exchange rates’ volatility amongst most African currencies and the associated impact thereof on inflation, directly contributes to the varying results when compared against the 2015 findings. The excessive cost of rented expatriate type accommodation in Luanda is greatly contributing to its retained status as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.” he stated.
Mr Van Heerden added, “Mercer’s 22nd annual Cost of Living Survey finds that factors including currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and instability of accommodation prices, contribute to the cost of expatriate packages for employees on international assignments.”
Hong Kong tops Global chat
On the Global level,Hong Kong topped the list of most expensive cities for expatriates in the world.
Other cities appearing in the top 10 of Mercer’s costliest cities for expatriates are Shanghai, Geneva, N’Djamena, and Beijing which occupied the 7th,8th,9th and 10th positions respectively.
Least expensive Cities
According to the report, the world’s least expensive cities for expatriates are Windhoek, Cape Town, and Bishkek who occupied the 207th, 208th and 209th positions.
Other performances
While some countries dropped positions, others moved up to occupy the most expensive expatriate seats. Some of them include Kinshasa, occupying the 6th position, rising seven places since 2015.
N’Djamena moved up one spot and occupying the 9th place on the list, followed by Lagos, Nigeria which is up seven places and occupying the 13th position.
Dropping three spots, Windhoek in Namibia ranks 209th as the least expensive city in the region and globally.
Johannesburg and Cape Town also drop fourteen and eight places consecutively.
The survey, according to the report was based on the premise that despite unstable global markets and growing security issues, organizations continue to leverage global expansion strategies to remain competitive and to grow.
Yet, few organizations are prepared for the challenges world events have on their business, including the impact on cost of expatriate packages.
About Mercer
Mercer is a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments. Mercer’s more than 20,000 employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in over 140 countries. Mercer South Africa was established in 2013 with their offices located in Centurion, Gauteng.
–
By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
