Switzerland is the most expensive location in the world for expats due to the growing strength of the Swiss franc against most other currencies.
Zurich, Berne, Geneva and Basel took the top four places in a global study of the cost of living for expats.
Human resources company ECA International warns expats and their employers that to maintain spending power, they should regularly review their cost of living allowance as exchange rate movements and changing rates of inflation between where an expat works and their home country can leave them unexpectedly out of pocket.
“The relative strength of the Swiss franc against other currencies has pushed Switzerland to the top of the rankings and kept the country there, said Steven Kilfedder, manager of Cost of Living and Remuneration Services for ECA International.
“The cost of living has eased, but not enough to see Switzerland drop down the table.
“Other cities that were expensive last year have become cheaper in comparison and slipped down the rankings. Luanda, for instance, has moved off the top to fifth place.”
In other regions, Shanghai is the most expensive city for expat assignees in the Asia Pacific.
Although falling down the table, Luanda remains the city with the highest expat cost of living in Africa.
Manhattan, New York, maintains top place in North America and both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are the only Middle East cities in the table.
Top 30 Most Expensive Cities For Expats
| Location | Country | 2015 | 2014 |
| Zurich | Switzerland | 1 | 4 |
| Geneva | Switzerland | 2 | 5 |
| Bern | Switzerland | 3 | 6 |
| Basel | Switzerland | 4 | 7 |
| Luanda | Angola | 5 | 1 |
| Kinshasa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 6 | 11 |
| Shanghai | China | 7 | 12 |
| Beijing | China | 8 | 13 |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 9 | 26 |
| Seoul | Korea Republic | 10 | 8 |
| Oslo | Norway | 11 | 2 |
| Tokyo | Japan | 12 | 10 |
| Conakry | Guinea | 13 | 36 |
| Guangzhou | China | 14 | 30 |
| Manhattan NY | United States of America | 15 | 38 |
| Shenzhen | China | 16 | 45 |
| Stavanger | Norway | 17 | 3 |
| Singapore | Singapore | 18 | 24 |
| Copenhagen | Denmark | 19 | 9 |
| Tel Aviv | Israel | 20 | 22 |
| Buenos Aires | Argentina | 21 | 121 |
| Jerusalem | Israel | 22 | 25 |
| Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea | 23 | 28 |
| Busan | Korea Republic | 24 | 21 |
| Libreville | Gabon | 25 | 14 |
| Yokohama | Japan | 26 | 18 |
| Nagoya | Japan | 27 | 20 |
| New York NY | United States of America | 28 | 55 |
| Macau | Macau | 29 | 99 |
| Honolulu | United States of America | 30 | 52 |
Source: ECA International
