Survey ranks T.O. most expensive Canadian city while Ottawa is least expensive
Toronto has jumped 35 positions to place 47th out of 144 cities covered by Mercer Human Resource Consulting's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2006.
The annual survey measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment and helps employers determine compensation allowances for expatriates.
Thanks to stable inflation, most Canadian cities are still relatively inexpensive, but the strong dollar has pushed them up the list. Of the cities surveyed, Ottawa remains Canada's least expensive, but it climbed 32 places from 122nd last year to 90th this year.
Moscow knocked off Tokyo, which fell to third place, as the most expensive city in the survey. London is the second most expensive city in Europe, ranked fifth overall, a drop of two places from last year. Two Swiss cities, Geneva and Zurich, dropped one place in the rankings to seventh and ninth respectively.
"The Euro has weakened against a number of currencies, for example the Canadian and U.S. dollars, reducing the cost of living for expatriates in many European countries," said Anna Krotova, senior researcher at Mercer.
New York is the United States' most expensive city, ranked 10th overall, thanks to the increased strength of the U.S. dollar and price increases in fuel and certain consumer goods.
Three of the world's four costliest cities are in Asia – Seoul is second, Tokyo third and Hong Kong fourth. Chinese cities have also moved up the rankings because the value of the Yuan renminbi is now pegged to several currencies, not just the U.S. dollar. Beijing is 14th and Shanghai is 20th.
"We have seen significant shifts in the cost-of-living rankings over the past few years, reflecting a changing global market," said Rebecca Powers, senior consultant with Mercer's international business. "For many companies it can now be more expensive to send employees to work in Russia or Korea than places like Japan and Switzerland, which are often perceived to be more costly."
The annual survey measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment and helps employers determine compensation allowances for expatriates.
Thanks to stable inflation, most Canadian cities are still relatively inexpensive, but the strong dollar has pushed them up the list. Of the cities surveyed, Ottawa remains Canada's least expensive, but it climbed 32 places from 122nd last year to 90th this year.
Moscow knocked off Tokyo, which fell to third place, as the most expensive city in the survey. London is the second most expensive city in Europe, ranked fifth overall, a drop of two places from last year. Two Swiss cities, Geneva and Zurich, dropped one place in the rankings to seventh and ninth respectively.
"The Euro has weakened against a number of currencies, for example the Canadian and U.S. dollars, reducing the cost of living for expatriates in many European countries," said Anna Krotova, senior researcher at Mercer.
New York is the United States' most expensive city, ranked 10th overall, thanks to the increased strength of the U.S. dollar and price increases in fuel and certain consumer goods.
Three of the world's four costliest cities are in Asia – Seoul is second, Tokyo third and Hong Kong fourth. Chinese cities have also moved up the rankings because the value of the Yuan renminbi is now pegged to several currencies, not just the U.S. dollar. Beijing is 14th and Shanghai is 20th.
"We have seen significant shifts in the cost-of-living rankings over the past few years, reflecting a changing global market," said Rebecca Powers, senior consultant with Mercer's international business. "For many companies it can now be more expensive to send employees to work in Russia or Korea than places like Japan and Switzerland, which are often perceived to be more costly."
