In news that will not come as a shock to any Kenyan, a recent report has listed Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.
The capital city rose up by 2 spots to position 95 according to the latest Cost of Living Survey conducted by consultancy firm Mercer, adding that Nairobi is the 15th most expensive city in Africa.
The most shocking fact from the report is that Ndjamena the capital of Chad is the most expensive city in Africa, currently ranked at position 15 globally. The top 15 African cities were ranked as highlighted below:
Lagos, Nigeria, (18 globally), Kinshasa, Democratice Republic of Congo (24), Libreville, Gabon (33), Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire (36), Brazzaville, Congo (44), Bangui, Central African Republic (49), Yaounde, Cameroon (56), Accra, Ghana (57), Djibouti, Djibouti (58), Abuja, Nigeria (68), Douala, Cameroon (70), Dakar, Senegal (75), Conakry, Guinea (89), and Nairobi, Kenya (95).
For anyone wanting to live affordably after Covid-19 restrictions end, then Tunis is the place for you as the Tunisian capital was ranked last in the list of most expensive cities in the world at position 209, just after Windhoek in Namibia ranked at position 208.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hong Hong which is a part of China tops the list of most expensive cities for expatriates, followed by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in second position. Tokyo and Zurich remained in third and fourth positions, respectively, whereas Singapore was ranked fifth, down two places from last year.
The survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation strategies for their expatriate employees.
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The survey examines over 400 cities across the world with the measurables being the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
“Border closings, flight interruptions, mandatory confinements, and other short-term disruptions have affected not only the cost of goods and services but also the quality of living of assignees,” said Ilya Bonic, Career President and Head of Mercer Strategy.
“Climate change, issues related to environmental footprint, and health system challenges have pushed multinationals to consider how a city’s efforts around sustainability can impact the living conditions for their expatriate workers. Cities with a strong sustainability focus can greatly improve living standards, which can, in turn, improve employee well-being and engagement,” he added.
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