The annual Mercer survey ranks cities’ cost of living based on the prices of goods and services such as food, clothing and rent.
According to Mercer’s 26th annual Cost of Living Survey, Victoria in the Seychelles is the most expensive city to live in Africa, followed by N’Djamena in Chad, Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo and Libreville in Gabon.
The survey found that specific factors such as currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and instability of accommodation prices are essential to determining the cost of expatriate packages for employees on international assignments.
The world’s least expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer’s survey, are Tunis in Tunisia, followed by Windhoek in Namibia, Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.
Nairobi is the most expensive city with the cost of living index excluding rent estimated at 39.89 per cent, with local purchasing power index at 26.5 per cent.
