NEW YORK, June 12 (UPI) -- Tokyo is the world's most expensive city for expatriates, a New York human resources consulting firm said Tuesday.
Mercer said its cost-of-living survey of 214 cities found Tokyo had overtaken Luanda, Angola, in the top spot since last year. Osaka, Japan, rose three places to come in at No. 3, followed by Moscow and Geneva, Switzerland.
Singapore and Zurich, Switzerland, tied at No. 6, with Ndjamena, Chad, Hong Kong and Nagoya, Japan, rounding out the Top 10, Mercer found.
What is the cheapest city in Mercer's study? That honor went to Karachi, Pakistan, where an expatriate can live for one-third the cost of staying in Tokyo.
London slipped seven places to No. 25. New York is No. 33, down one spot, while Los Angeles is No. 68 and San Francisco is No. 90, followed by Washington at No. 107, Miami and Chicago tied at No. 110, Portland, Ore., No. 178, and Winston-Salem, N.C. at No. 195.
Toronto, at No. 61, is Canada's highest-ranking city.
The survey compared the cost of more than 200 items, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
Mercer's Nathalie Constantin-Metral said the cost of living is an important factor for companies deploying employees around the world.
"When compared to New York, our benchmark city, most European cities have witnessed a decline in cost of living," she said. "Some exceptions exist where accommodation prices have increased or additional [value-added] taxes have pushed the cost of living up. In North America, most cities have gone up in the ranking, as the U.S. dollar has strengthened against a large proportion of the world's other currencies.
"In Asia, more than six in 10 cities moved up in the rankings, including all surveyed cities in Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand. Cities in Australia and New Zealand witnessed some of the biggest jumps, as their currencies strengthened significantly against the U.S. dollar."
