According to Mercer's 2019 Global Cost of Living Survey (‘Cost of Living Survey’), Lisbon “dropped 11 positions in the ranking, ranking ahead of cities like Luanda, which was in first position in 2017.

Luanda is the 115th most expensive city in the world in terms of cost of living, down 89 positions compared to last year (26th).

In the ranking now released, Hong Kong maintains its position as the most expensive city in the world, as opposed to Tunis (Tunisia), the least expensive city.

The city of Hong Kong is at the top of the ‘ranking’ of the most expensive cities for expats, followed by Ashgabat, in Turkmenistan, which occupies the second position.

Tokyo and Zurich remain in the 3rd and 4th places, respectively, while Singapore, which occupies the 5th place, dropped two places, compared to the year 2019.

Other cities that are in the top 10 are New York (5), Shanghai (7), Bern (8), Geneva (9), and Beijing (10).

The least expensive cities for expatriates are Tunis (209), Windhoek, Namibia (208), and Toshkent (Uzbekistan) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), who tie for 206th place.

Through the study it was also possible to conclude that the price of gasoline in Lisbon (1.61 Euros per litre of 95 octane gasoline) is one of the highest considering the other cities in the 'ranking'.

On the other hand, and compared to the most expensive city in the 'ranking', the average price of cleaning products, which includes antiseptics, household cleaning products or dishwasher detergent, Lisbon has an average cost of 32.90 Euros and in Hong Kong is 37.80 Euros.

The study data was collected in March by Mercer, which concluded that price fluctuations in many regions were not significant due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The study includes more than 500 cities worldwide, and this year's ranking includes 209 cities across five continents and analyzes and compares the costs of more than 200 items at each location, including accommodation, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

The Mercer study concludes that “a number of factors, including currency fluctuations, the cost of inflation for goods and services and the volatility of accommodation prices, contribute to the overall cost of 'expatriate packages' for employees on international tasks”.