The latest Cost of Living survey reveals that Thailand has become more expensive than ever — with Bangkok for the first time ever entering the top 100 most expensive places in the world for expats to live.
The biannual survey, released Monday by ECA International — a multinational human resources consultant company — measures the cost of living across 450 locations in 196 countries.
While popularly envisioned as a place you can live on the cheap, Thai cities were among the biggest risers — with Bangkok ascending 32 places to finally crack the top 100.
“Over the past five years, Bangkok has climbed over 80 places and the Thai capital now sits in 90th place in our cost of living rankings,” ECA International regional director Lee Quane said in the report.
“The Thai baht has strengthened in recent years as the economy has expanded and the political landscape has stabilized. This means that Thai locations are now a great deal more expensive for expat workers than they have been in the past.”
Hong Kong is the second-most expensive location for expats in Asia — behind only Ashgabat, the capital city of the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan — followed by Seoul and Tokyo.
As for the most expensive city in the world, Ashgabat has risen a jaw-dropping 145 places since 2017. If you’re as curious as we are how that came to be, ECA has an answer.
“A plunging black market exchange rate, coupled with foreign exchange shortages, have stoked the levels of inflation in Turkmenistan and have led the prices of goods to increase enormously over the past 12 months,” Quane said in the report.
While Hong Kong and Tokyo are near the top for Asian cities, four Swiss locales are right behind Ashgabat as the most expensive globally.
No American city made it to the top 10. However, five US cities were featured in the top 50, with New York being the most expensive at 24 place.
The Cost of Living survey compares different aspects of daily life, including food, basics (accommodation, transportation etc.), and general spending needs (school fees, electricity and alcohol etc).
