Juba named most expensive city in the world for expats

Annual rankings conducted global consulting firm ECA International enumerated the 30 most expensive cities for international assignees.

The ranking was calculated by looking at inflation and exchange rates, and comparing the prices of a number of items and services like-for-like, to see exactly how expensive it would be to maintain the same standard of living in the new country.

The survey is intended to help companies estimate the costs of employees living abroad of international assignment.

For a city like Zurich in Switzerland, the high cost of living in the city and the unfavorable exchange rate are the biggest factors contributing to its high ranking.

However, for a city like Juba — which is in the poorer, newly formed country of South Sudan — the markup on the items an international employee might request or need is a lot higher. There has also been a flood of foreign aid groups, international diplomats establishing embassies, and oil companies bringing in international workers, driving the prices of these imported goods up. Juba has shot up to the No. 1 spot after sitting at Number 9 on last year’s list.

Three more cities in Switzerland made it to the list—Geneva (4), Bern (5) and Basel (6); six in China—Shanghai (8), Beijing (9), Guanzhou (14), Shenzhen (18), Dalian (16) and Hong Kong-Special Autonomous Region (12); two are in Japan—Tokyo (16) and Yokohama (28); three are in South Korea—Seoul (10), Busan (15) and Ulsan (23) while Singapore is Number 19.

The most expensive city in the U.S. is Manhattan (20), followed by New York (29) and Honolulu (30).