These are the most expensive cities in the world for foreign workers

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Most of the cities in the top 10 on the list are economic centers where growth has led to an increase in housing prices and other costs of living. If you are thinking of moving to another country, this list may help you make decisions, especially financial ones.

The capital of Turkmenistan, in Central Asia, was listed as the most expensive city in the world for foreign workers. Ashgabat, a city of about one million people, topped a 2021 cost of living survey by consultancy Mercer.

The ranking places Ashgabat above last year's most expensive city, Hong Kong, which came in second, followed by Beirut in Lebanon and Tokyo in Japan.

The annual report ranks 209 cities according to the cost of expenses such as housing, transportation, and food. Mercer evaluated more than 200 goods and services for the report, which is designed to help businesses and governments around the world determine how much they should pay expatriate employees. Most of the cities in the top 10 on the list are economic centers where growth has led to an increase in home prices and other costs of living.

But Ashgabat owes its position to economic problems rather than prosperity, making it an outlier.

Why does Ashgabat top the list?

It happened due to the high local inflation rise to the top spot. Turkmenistan, known for its autocratic rule and large gas reserves, has been grappling with a long-standing economic crisis that has plunged many citizens into poverty.

Formerly part of the Soviet Union, the country relies heavily on natural gas exports to Russia. The current economic turbulence has been driven, in part, by the low prices of this energy resource.

A global drop in energy prices in 2014 led to inflation and pushed up the price of food. In September last year, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report said that the Covid-19 pandemic had dramatically exacerbated Turkmenistan's pre-existing food crisis.

The subsidized food shortage, which accelerated since 2016, got worse, with people having to queue for hours to try to buy more affordable food products and often had to leave empty-handed. Despite this, the Turkmen government started a major expansion of Ashgabat in May.

Former President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov pledged to make the capital one of the most prosperous cities in the world.

There were other cities on the list?

Lebanon's capital Beirut saw a huge rise, going from 45th last year to third in the 2021 poll. Mercer attributed this to a number of factors, including the political turmoil of recent years and the severe and widespread economic depression. The Covid-19 pandemic and the explosion in the port of Beirut (in 2020) aggravated the economic problems, causing record inflation.

Three Swiss cities were in the top 10 in 2020, including Zurich, which fell to fifth on this year's list. Of the most expensive Chinese cities, Shanghai climbed from one place to number six, while the capital, Beijing, climbed to ninth. Singapore, an island city-state known for its burgeoning financial sector, ranked seventh. At the bottom of the list is the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, listed as the least expensive city for foreign employees.