Hong Kong is the ninth-most expensive place in the world to live for expats, according to a new survey which, once again, implicitly highlighted the importance of happy hour deals on booze.
The Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) International survey, which assesses year-on-year movement in prices, shows Hong Kong climbed two spots from its September 2016 ranking and is now back in the top 10 countries where buying several coffees a day leads to bankruptcy.
Regionally, Hong Kong is the second-most expensive place for expats after Tokyo, though it leapfrogged several other Japanese locations because of faster price increases and the strengthening of its currency against the yen.
Asian cities dominated the rankings, with more than half of the top 50 in the world, including 14 Chinese cities.
The top two most expensive cities for expats, however, were both in Africa, with Angola’s capital Lunda coming in first and the Sudanese capital of Khartoum placing second.
Regionally, Coconut HK’s notoriously pricy sister sister Singapore is getting a bit cheaper, relatively speaking, dropping to the 21st most-expensive location surveyed — the first time since 2014 that it hasn’t featured in the top 20.
The ECA International living survey, carried out in September, assesses 262 locations based on a basket of commonly purchased day-to-day goods and services including groceries, household goods, clothing and alcohol.
The twice-yearly survey, which started in 2004, does not include certain living costs such as accommodation, utilities, and school fees, because ECA says they’re usually covered separately.
ECA’s March survey, released in June, showed Hong Kong as the most expensive city in the Asia pacific region for expats and second-priciest in the world.
The 20 Most Expensive Cities for Expats in the World
- Luanda
- Khartoum
- Zurich
- Geneva
- Basel
- Bern
- Oslo
- Tokyo
- Hong Kong
- Stavanger
- Seoul
- Shanghai
- Tel Aviv
- Copenhagen
- Jerusalem
- Beijing
- Kinshasa
- Yokohama
- Nagoya
- Osaka
