The Cayman Islands is the most expensive place to live, according to price point data collected by thousands of expats around the world.
The cost of living in the capital George Town is 41% more expensive than New York.
The other most expensive countries include Bermuda (38% more expensive than New York); Switzerland (22%) and Norway (4%).
Everywhere else in the world rates cheaper than New York.
At the bottom of the list, the cheapest country for expats is Pakistan (82% cheaper than New York).
The data is compiled and published by web site Numbeo, where the full listing of 136 countries can be viewed.
Cost of living by country
The most expensive countries are coloured red and the cheapest dark green. Yellow denotes mid-placed countries.
Source: Numbeo
World’s most expensive countries for expats
New York City is the index base at 100, so 141.64 means Cayman Islands is 41.64% more expensive than New York, while 74.4 means rents are 25.6% cheaper.
| Rank | Country | Cost of Living Index | Rent Index | Cost of Living + Rent Index | Groceries Index | Restaurant Price Index | Spending Power Index |
| 1 | Cayman Islands | 141.64 | 74.4 | 109.49 | 157.93 | 105.03 | 137.88 |
| 2 | Bermuda | 138.22 | 87.62 | 114.03 | 124.87 | 150.4 | 79.87 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 122.67 | 50.22 | 88.03 | 121.29 | 124.04 | 127.76 |
| 4 | Norway | 104.49 | 37.26 | 72.34 | 93.94 | 115.59 | 98 |
| 5 | US Virgin Islands | 97.23 | 48.24 | 73.81 | 87.42 | 90.74 | 54.58 |
| 6 | Iceland | 97.22 | 45.08 | 72.29 | 84.63 | 111.46 | 92.03 |
| 7 | Bahamas | 85.96 | 35.4 | 61.79 | 68.84 | 87.2 | 56.21 |
| 8 | Japan | 85.52 | 28.08 | 58.06 | 84.69 | 50.05 | 97.57 |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 84.68 | 55.44 | 70.7 | 71.6 | 92.91 | 107.89 |
| 10 | Denmark | 83.88 | 33.73 | 59.9 | 64.02 | 100.63 | 110.69 |
Source: Numbeo
World’s cheapest countries for expats
| Rank | Country | Cost of Living Index | Rent Index | Cost of Living + Rent Index | Groceries Index | Restaurant Price Index | Spending Power Index |
| 127 | Kyrgyzstan | 28.13 | 8.96 | 18.97 | 25.53 | 22.3 | 25.28 |
| 128 | Georgia | 27.78 | 9.3 | 18.94 | 22.01 | 25.97 | 30.23 |
| 129 | Kosovo | 27.38 | 8.72 | 18.46 | 24.61 | 21.11 | 54.11 |
| 130 | Venezuela | 27.22 | 6.85 | 17.48 | 29.59 | 22.31 | 2.79 |
| 131 | Uzbekistan | 25.79 | 7.82 | 17.2 | 22.02 | 19.34 | 25.8 |
| 132 | Tunisia | 25.43 | 5.18 | 15.75 | 23.45 | 14.05 | 37.63 |
| 133 | Syria | 25.31 | 5.44 | 15.81 | 22.82 | 20.77 | 12.37 |
| 134 | India | 25.14 | 5.99 | 15.98 | 25.16 | 17.51 | 61.73 |
| 135 | Afghanistan | 24.51 | 4.29 | 14.85 | 18.83 | 17.12 | 28.87 |
| 136 | Pakistan | 18.58 | 4.02 | 11.62 | 16.5 | 13.78 | 36.1 |
Source: Numbeo
