@samuelkuttyvp –
Out of a total of 227 cities around the world, Muscat has been ranked 119th in the Expatriate Cost of Living Index for the year 2022, which reveals the most expensive cities for international employees.
According to the annual Cost of Living report by global consultancy Mercer, Asian cities account for eight of the top 10 priciest cities for foreign workers.
While Hong Kong, Zurich and Geneva are the three most expensive cities in the world, Switzerland, Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern have been ranked second to fifth place, respectively, in the survey.
“The high rankings for many Asian cities were driven by inflation and strong currencies,” Mercer said in the report.
For the capital city of Muscat, it has been ranked third in the Gulf after Doha and Kuwait among the lowest Gulf countries in the cost of living and eighth in the Arab world.
In the Arab world, Dubai, Djibouti and Abu Dhabi topped the first to three places with 31st, 41st and 61st respectively, Riyadh came in the 103rd position, Jeddah 111rd and Manama 117th.
While Doha is in the 133rd place, Cairo ranked 154th, Rabat 162nd, and Tunisia 220th.
“With the recent return of high inflation across the globe, employees are increasingly concerned about their purchasing power, resulting in salary increase expectations,” Mercer said.
New York City, ranked seventh globally, is the most expensive city in the Americas, according to the survey, which compared the prices of 200 goods and products in more than 400 cities.
Mercer’s annual cost of living index, now in its 28th year, is designed to help companies and governments determine pay packages for expatriate employees by measuring accommodation costs and the price of goods and services within local markets against their relative cost in New York City.
Mercer said its Cost of Living Survey provides employers with current, broad and reliable data to help them navigate compensation strategies for their mobile employees in global markets.
It stated that the total cost of living index reflects the prices of more than 200 items that fall into the categories of housing, services, healthcare, entertainment, food, clothing, shoes, household services and tobacco.
Global issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, exchange rate fluctuations and widespread inflation were affecting expatriate salaries and savings, the report found.
Fuel is one of the major contributing factors to the rising cost of living around the world as demand for oil surges ahead of supply.
Ankara, Turkey (227th) ranked as the least expensive city to work abroad, followed by Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (226th), Dushanbe, Tajikistan (225th), Islamabad, Pakistan (224th) and Karachi, Pakistan (223rd).
