Moscow costliest city for expats, Mumbai is 52nd

LONDON:Moscow remains the world’s most expensive city for expatriates with London close behind after rising three places due to the weakness of the dollar, an annual cost of living survey published on Monday said. In Asia, Singapore climbed three places to 14th while Mumbai rose 16 places to 52nd — both moves mainly due to surging property prices.

Moscow emerged as the most expensive city in the world followed by London, according to a survey released today which placed Mumbai in 52nd position.

None of the Indian cities have found a place in the top 50 costly cities of the world but rising property prices helped Mumbai climb to 52 from last year’s 68th position, the survey said.

The survey used the United States’’ most expensive city, New York, as a benchmark and compared the cost in 143 cities.

According to the survey by British human resources firm Mercer HR, Moscow remained the most expensive city in the world for the second consecutive year with the cost of living index going up by 34.4 per cent comparing to New York.

London is in second position, climbing three place since last year. Seoul moves down one place in the ranking to take third place, followed by Tokyo in fourth.

Europe dominated the top 50, placing 30 cities on the list, including Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg, and capturing six of spots in the top ten.