London -- Tokyo has knocked Moscow off the top spot to become the world’s costliest city for expats, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer. Osaka is in second position, up nine places since last year, pushing Moscow to third place, after three years at the top. Geneva climbs four places to fourth position and Hong Kong moves up one to reach fifth. Johannesburg has replaced Asunción in Paraguay as the least expensive.
 
This year has seen a significant reshuffle in the ranking, mainly due to considerable currency fluctuations worldwide. The majority of European cities moved down in the ranking, with Warsaw experiencing the most dramatic change, plummeting 78 places from 35th to 113th.
 
Cities in Expatica countries mostly follow this European trend. Paris and Lyon have moved down to ranks 13 (from 12) and 62 (from 57); Amsterdam to 29 (from 25); Madrid and Barcelona to 37 and 38 (from 28 and 31); Brussels  to 41 (from 39) and all six German cities in the list: Munich (47 from 37), Frankfurt (48 from 40), Berlin (49 from 38), Dusseldorf (54 from 46), Hamburg (56 from 50) and Leipzig (101 from 95). Both Swiss cities in the ranking buck the trend, however: Geneva and Zurich have moved up to ranks 4 and 6 (from 8 and 9).
 
London and Oslo—both previously in the top 10—have dropped 13 and 10 places respectively. Similar drops can be seen in Australia, New Zealand and India: Sydney has dropped 51 places from 15th to 66th and Mumbai has slipped to 66th from 48th place.
 
Cities in the US, China, Japan and the Middle East, on the other hand, have surged in the rankings. New York is a newcomer in the top 10, jumping from 22nd to 8th place, and so is Beijing, now in 9th place, up from 20th in 2008. Japan now has two cities in the top 10 and Dubai has climbed 32 places to reach 20th.
 

 1 2 3 Next >