Despite sliding rents, Hong Kong tops another global ranking of most expensive cities for expats

City’s exceptionally high housing costs push it to the top spot, according to Lee Quane, regional director for Asia, at data firm ECA International

The survey compares day-to-day consumer goods and services commonly bought by international assignees in more than 480 places across the world

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Hong Kong is the most expensive place in the world for overseas workers to live, according to an ECA International survey. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:41pm, 15 Dec 2020Updated: 6:16pm, 6 May 2021

Hong Kong has – once again – topped a ranking of the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates, despite a slide in rental prices attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing political uncertainty.

Tuesday’s cost-of-living survey from research data firm ECA International – which compares data compiled in September 2019 and September 2020 – landed the city in first place globally, followed by Tokyo, New York, and Geneva.

A July ECA survey comparing data collected in March 2019 and March 2020 ranked Hong Kong sixth globally – and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, top overall – though that edition did not take into account certain categories such as utilities.

While the latest report deemed the city expensive across many areas, Hong Kong’s exceptionally high housing costs pushed it to the top spot, according to Lee Quane, the firm’s regional director for Asia.

Singapore fell to 14th place from 12th in the survey. Photo: AP

“Hong Kong is the most expensive place in the world for overseas workers to live, in spite of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Lee said.

“This is despite seeing some property prices falling in the past year in response to a drop in demand due to the pandemic and ongoing political uncertainty.”