Slumping Pound Boosts Expat Pay In the UK

The Brexit effect of the falling pound has seen British cities plunge down the rankings in the latest list of the most expensive places to live in the world.

London has traditionally sat near the top of the rankings, but has even fallen out of the top 100.

The city is now the 103^rdmost expensive place to live, mainly due to the price of the pound plummeting against other major currencies since the Brexit referendum in June 2016.

Other British cities have also tumbled down the ratings – such as Cardiff (162), Belfast (169) and Edinburgh (151).

The list looks at the prices of a standard basket of goods and services in 450 places worldwide.

Tokyo most expensive world location

The data helps international employers and expat assignees set the cost of living allowance included in their pay.

Tokyo is the most expensive city for expats, returning to the top spot for the first time in four years.

African locations like Luanda. Angola, and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are in the top 20 mainly because of the cost of transporting Western consumer items to remote areas.

Zurich, Switzerland is the most expensive European city, followed by the other Swiss cities of Geneva, Basel and Bern.

Global Top 20 – Most expensive places for expats

Rank	Location	Country	2015 rank
1	Tokyo	Japan	12
2	Luanda	Angola	5
3	Zurich	Switzerland	1
4	Geneva	Switzerland	2
5	Yokohama	Japan	27
6	Basel	Switzerland	4
7	Nagoya	Japan	28
8	Bern	Switzerland	3
9	Osaka	Japan	36
10	Kinshasa	Democratic Republic of The Congo	6
11	Hong Kong	China	9
12	Seoul	South Korea	10
13	Shanghai	China	7
14	Oslo	Norway	11
15	Beijing	China	8
16	Singapore	Singapore	18
17	Busan	South Korea	25
18	Tashkent	Uzbekistan	33
19	Tel Aviv	Israel	20
20	Stavanger	Norway	17

Source: ECA International