Vancouver ranked 53rd most expensive city in the world and 5th in Americas for expats

According to the  latest Cost of Living survey by ECA International, Vancouver ranks 53rd in the global list of most expensive cities for expatriates.

It also ranks 5th in the Americas, trailing behind Caracas, Venezuela and the island of Manhattan, Honolulu and the city of New York. Caracas is also the most expensive city in the world after seeing inflation of 30 to 40 per cent over the last six months.

Norway’s capital Oslo remains Europe’s most expensive city for expatriates and the third most costly in the world. With the exception of Moscow, the region’s top ten is dominated by Western European cities in Switzerland, Scandinavia and Finland.

The strengthening of the euro against the dollar over the 12 months between surveys has contributed to significant climbs up the ranking for Dutch and German locations. Turkish cities have seen some of the region’s more significant falls, due largely to the depreciation of the Lira.

In the Middle East, the most expensive locations for expatriates continue to be the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, ranked 24th globally, and Jerusalem (27th). They have both climbed even further up the ranking this year due to the strengthening of the Shekel against other major currencies. In the United Arab Emirates, the price of items in ECA’s cost of living basket for expatriates has gone up significantly and both Dubai (171st globally) and Abu Dhabi (180th) have also risen in the ranking.

While Tokyo still tops the list of the most expensive locations in Asia for expatriates, globally it has fallen to 10th place on the back of a weaker Yen – a significant drop from last year, when it was the most expensive city in the world for expatriate staff. Companies that need to locate staff into Japan can now do so for considerably less than in recent years, despite the long period of deflation in the country being reversed earlier this year.

After Japan, some of the biggest falls in living costs in Asia have been seen in Indonesia – also partly as a result of a weaker currency. While Jakarta has only fallen 3 places in the regional ranking to 27th, globally it has dropped 45 spots to 172nd place.

Beijing is now Asia’s second most expensive location after Tokyo, up from 5th position last year. Globally, the Chinese capital is the 15th most expensive location for expatriates. Shanghai previously in 25th position is now in the 18th position in the global results, and 4th in Asia.

Source: ECA | Image: romakoma / Shutterstock