Dubai: In Mercer’s Cost of Living City Ranking for 2023, Dubai moved up 13 spots, making it the most expensive city in the Middle East North African (MENA) area outside of Tel Aviv, according to a survey by Mercer.
The top five most expensive cities for expats are Hong Kong, Singapore, three Swiss cities (Zurich, Geneva, and Basel), and the city is currently ranked as the 18th most expensive.
According to real estate experts, rentals in popular villa developments in Dubai have increased by up to 35% in just one year. Despite dropping two spots to number 8, Tel Aviv, Israel remained the most expensive city in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Abu Dhabi is the third most expensive city in the region, followed by Riyadh, which increased 18 ranks to 85, Manama in Bahrain, which rose 19 positions to 98, and Jeddah, which rose 10 positions to 101st.
The 130th and 131st places were held by Muscat and Kuwait City. Mercer monitored the cost of essential expat purchases including bread, cooking oil, and gasoline.
The largest increase in gasoline prices was recorded in Istanbul, Turkey, which climbed 37 spots to 185th rank. Los Angeles, Barcelona, New York City, and Berlin were the next most affected cities. The cost of fuel did not decrease in any of the 227 cities examined.
The highest bread price increases were also recorded in Istanbul, while the biggest price drops were recorded in Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Johannesburg, and Mumbai.
Havana, which lost 83 ranks in the ranking as a result of significant currency devaluations in the middle of 2022, and Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan are the least expensive places.
Mercer’s report stated: “The key factors that have shaped the world’s economy in 2022 will continue to exert an influence into 2023.
“More than a year after the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the emergence of more contagious COVID-19 variants, many economies are still absorbing the shocks produced by these events.”
Many economies are anticipated to experience weaker income growth in 2023 as a result of aggressive national monetary policies and tightening global financial conditions. Many nations have large levels of debt, and some economies have not yet reached a peak in inflation.
“Inflation and exchange-rate fluctuations are directly impacting the pay and savings of employees who are internationally mobile,” the report claimed.
