Lagos, Victoria, N’djamena most expensive cities in Africa—Survey report

Mercer’s 2020 Cost of Living Survey has found that majority of African countries have risen in ranking in terms of expenses and cost of living for expatriates. This year, Victoria, Seychelles (14) takes the lead as the most expensive city in Africa while Ndjamena, Chad (15), dropped four places from last year’s ranking as the most expensive city. Tunis in Tunisia (209) again ranks as the least expensive city in the region and globally.  In comparison with last year’s report, Lagos, Nigeria (18) rose seven places due to high cost for rent and high prices for groceries, followed by Kinshasa, the Dem. Rep. of Congo (24) which dropped two places. Accra, Ghana moved from 63 to 57, while Nairobi, Kenya, moved from 97 to 95 and Casablanca, Morocco moved from 128 to 121. Luanda, Angola (115) dropped significantly, moving from 26 in 2019 to 115, this year. 

“COVID-19 pandemic has created social and economic disruptions across the globe and Africa has not been an exception. We’re seeing a significant increase in the cost of living across cities and it’s important for organisations to reassess their mobility programs with a focus on the wellbeing of their employees,” said Didintle Kwape, Associate, Career Products at Mercer Africa. Mercer’s 26th Cost of Living Survey finds that specific factors such as currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and instability of accommodation prices, are essential to determining the cost of expatriate packages for employees on international assignments. 

According to the survey, Hong Kong tops the list of most expensive cities for expatriates, followed by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in second position. Tokyo and Zurich remain in third and fourth positions, respectively, whereas Singapore is in fifth, down two places from last year. New York City ranked sixth, moving up from ninth place. Other cities appearing in the top 10 of Mercer’s costliest cities for expatriates are Shanghai (7), Bern (8), Geneva (9), and Beijing (10). The world’s least expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer’s survey, are Tunis (209), Windhoek (208), Tashkent and Bishkek, which tied to rank 206. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that sending and keeping employees on international assignments is a huge responsibility and a difficult task to manage,” said Ilya Bonic, Career President and Head of Mercer Strategy. “Rather than bet on a dramatic resurgence of mobility, organisations should prepare for the redeployment of their mobile workforces, leading with empathy and understanding that not all expatriates will be ready or willing to go abroad.” Mercer’s widely recognised survey is one of the world’s most comprehensive, and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation strategies for their expatriate employees. New York City is used as the base city for all comparisons and currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The survey includes over 400 cities throughout the world; this year’s ranking includes 209 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.