Vancouver ranked world's 96th most expensive city

Dec 19 2017, 7:13 pm

It should be no surprise that Vancouver is still the most expensive city in Canada but it is now the 96th most expensive city in the world, according to Mercer’s 2014 Cost of Living Survey.

This represents a significant drop from last year’s ranking of 64th in the same survey, but the massive thirty-two place fall is attributed to the falling value of the Canadian dollar and slower inflation in domestic prices compared to the top ranking cities.

Four other Canadian cities made the list and also dropped in rankings for the same reasons: Toronto (101st in 2014; 67th in 2013), Montreal (123rd in 2014; 95th in 2013), Calgary (125th in 2014; 97th in 2013) and Ottawa (152nd in 2014; 118th in 2013).

European, Asian and Australian cities had the highest cost of living, while the African cities of Luanda in Angola and N’Djamena in Chad topped the list.

Hong Kong came in third place, followed by Singapore, Zurich, Geneva, Tokyo, Bern, Moscow and Shanghai.

“Rankings in many regions were affected by recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, which resulted in currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices,” said Ed Hannibal, Partner and Global Leader for Mercer’s Mobility practice.

Most European cities were pushed up in the rankings due to the rising value of European currencies against the US dollar. Housing and rental costs in European cities have also been pushed upwards due to strong demand, especially in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

In contrast, Japanese and Australian cities have dropped in the ranking this year as a result of their respective currencies weakening against the US dollar. However, Chinese cities jumped in the ranking, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, due to the strengthening of the Chinese yuan.

Cities in the United States have climbed in the ranking due to the relative stability of the US dollar against other major currencies,

Mercer’s 2014 Cost of Living Survey

Rank 2014 Rank 2013 City Country
1 1 Luanda Angola
2 4 N’Djamena Chad
3 6 Hong Kong Hong Kong
4 5 Singapore Singapore
5 8 Zurich Switzerland
6 7 Geneva Switzerland
7 3 Tokyo Japan
8 9 Bern Switzerland
9 2 Moscow Russia
10 14 Shanghai China
11 15 Beijing China
12 25 London United Kingdom
13 22 Victoria Seychelles
14 13 Seoul South Korea
15 17 Copenhagen Denmark
16 24 New York City United States
17 29 Shenzhen China
18 32 Tel Aviv Israel
19 21 Libreville Gabon
20 33 Kinshasa Congo, Democratic Republic of
20 11 Oslo Norway
22 45 Noumea New Caledonia
23 12 Osaka Japan
24 35 Guangzhou China
25 36 Lagos Nigeria
26 9 Sydney Australia
27 37 Paris France
28 40 Brazzaville Congo, Republic of
29 39 Bamako Mali
30 41 Milan Italy
31 44 Rome Italy
32 48 Vienna Austria
33 16 Melbourne Australia
34 46 Conakry Guinea
35 23 St. Petersburg Russia
36 49 Abuja Nigeria
37 18 Perth Australia
38 42 Stockholm Sweden
39 52 Amsterdam Netherlands
40 51 Dakar Senegal
40 26 Nagoya Japan
42 55 Helsinki Finland
43 38 Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire
44 46 Douala Cameroon
44 55 Yaounde Cameroon
46 57 Baku Azerbaijan
47 69 Nanjing China
48 65 Qingdao China
49 19 Sao Paulo Brazil
50 67 Tianjin China
51 61 Dublin Ireland
52 28 Brisbane Australia
53 27 Canberra Australia
54 79 Shenyang China
55 81 Munich Germany
56 69 Brussels Belgium
56 77 Luxembourg Luxembourg
58 54 Auckland New Zealand
59 34 Adelaide Australia
59 83 Frankfurt Germany
61 62 Taipei Taiwan
62 72 Los Angeles, CA United States
63 76 Beirut Lebanon
63 81 Madrid Spain
65 29 Rio de Janeiro Brazil
66 57 Yangon Myanmar
67 90 Dubai United Arab Emirates
68 79 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
68 99 Berlin Germany
70 85 Pointe-a-Pitre Guadeloupe
71 84 Barcelona Spain
71 97 Chengdu China
73 100 Dusseldorf Germany
74 92 San Francisco, CA United States
75 88 Riga Latvia
76 106 Hamburg Germany
77 53 Tehran¹ Iran
78 90 Athens Greece
79 103 Lyon France
79 75 Wellington New Zealand
81 78 Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei
81 114 Port-au-Prince Haiti
81 93 White Plains, NY United States
84 93 Bratislava Slovakia
85 101 Chicago, IL United States
86 59 Buenos Aires Argentina
87 102 Cotonou Benin
88 66 Bangkok Thailand
88 63 Santiago Chile
90 135 Birmingham United Kingdom
91 116 Stuttgart Germany
92 73 Prague Czech Republic
92 106 Washington, D.C. United States
94 128 Aberdeen United Kingdom
94 109 Lisbon Portugal
96 64 Vancouver Canada
97 117 Honolulu, HI United States
98 60 Bogota Colombia
98 103 Kiev Ukraine
98 114 Miami, FL United States
101 42 Djibouti Djibouti
101 68 Toronto Canada
103 89 Amman Jordan
103 31 Niamey Niger
105 113 Lome Togo
105 131 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso
107 125 Casablanca Morocco
108 157 Glasgow United Kingdom
109 123 Boston, MA United States
110 129 Tallinn Estonia
111 95 Almaty Kazakhstan
111 122 Riyadh Saudi Arabia
113 127 Limassol Cyprus
114 87 Montevideo Uruguay
115 111 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
116 144 Ljubljana Slovenia
117 154 Dhaka Bangladesh
117 147 Nairobi Kenya
119 71 Jakarta Indonesia
120 158 Belfast United Kingdom
120 131 Zagreb Croatia
122 120 Maputo Mozambique
123 95 Montreal Canada
124 139 Algiers Algeria
125 97 Calgary Canada
125 135 Dallas, TX United States
125 103 Manila Philippines
128 110 Accra Ghana
129 148 Nurnberg Germany
130 139 Vilnius Lithuania
131 134 Hanoi Vietnam
132 144 Morristown, NJ United States
132 126 San Jose Costa Rica
134 106 Havana¹ Cuba
135 130 Budapest Hungary
135 141 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
135 85 Istanbul Turkey
135 112 Lima Peru
139 143 San Juan Puerto Rico
140 118 Mumbai India
141 153 Leipzig Germany
142 150 Warsaw Poland
143 144 Houston, TX United states
144 73 Brasilia Brazil
145 151 Panama City Panama
146 121 Kigali Rwanda
147 151 Atlanta, GA United States
147 141 Kuwait City Kuwait
149 133 Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago
150 154 Manama Bahrain
150 138 Mexico Mexico
152 118 Ottawa Canada
153 154 Cairo Egypt
153 163 Khartoum¹ Sudan
153 159 Seattle, WA United States
156 160 Minneapolis, MN United States
157 124 New Delhi India
158 162 Doha Qatar
159 169 Bucharest Romania
160 160 Detroit, MI United States
161 163 St. Louis, MO United states
162 168 Pittsburgh, PA United states
163 170 Rabat Morocco
164 167 Colombo Sri Lanka
165 173 Port Louis Mauritius
166 173 Portland, OR United States
167 175 Cleveland, OH United States
168 170 Muscat Oman
169 177 Phnom Penh Cambodia
170 176 Guatemala City Guatemala
171 180 Damascus¹ Syria
172 181 Sofia Bulgaria
173 172 Santo Domingo Dominican Republic
174 148 Lusaka Zambia
175 182 Jeddah Saudi Arabia
176 163 Asuncion Paraguay
177 190 Quito Ecuador
178 186 Dar es Salaam Tanzania
178 163 Kingston Jamaica
180 185 Tashkent Uzbekistan
181 193 Harare Zimbabwe
182 193 Winston Salem, NC United States
183 178 Monterrey Mexico
184 192 Belgrade Serbia
185 179 Chennai India
186 182 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
187 195 Yerevan Armenia
188 199 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina
189 202 Tirana Albania
190 198 San Salvador El Salvador
191 187 Minsk Belarus
191 199 Nouakchott Mauritania
193 203 Skopje Macedonia
194 205 Kampala Uganda
194 195 Tbilisi Georgia
196 189 Bangalore India
197 184 Gaborone Botswana
198 201 Ashkhabad Turkmenistan
199 190 Banjul Gambia
200 204 Tegucigalpa Honduras
201 209 Blantyre Malawi
202 210 Tunis Tunisia
203 187 Johannesburg South Africa
204 211 La Paz Bolivia
205 197 Cape Town South Africa
205 206 Kolkata India
207 212 Managua Nicaragua
208 208 Islamabad Pakistan
209 213 Bishkek Kyrgyzstan
210 207 Windhoek Namibia
211 214 Karachi Pakistan

Featured Image: Vancouver skyline via Shutterstock

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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