World's most expensive cities for expats in 2020 revealed -- Mercer’s annual survey

Hong Kong retains its place atop the rankings for a third straight year as the world's most expensive city for expats, according to the latest Mercer annual report Tuesday.

Ashgabat is suffering from "an economic crisis which has brought about a dire currency shortage and therefore problems importing," Mercer France head of mobility Jean-Philippe Sarra told AFP, with currency rate fluctuations and inflation further contributory factors.

Tokyo is the third most expensive city to be an expat, down from second last year.

Zurich topped the list along with Paris and Hong Kong due to rise of the euro and Swiss franc against the US dollar, as well as the comparative decline in the cost of living in the two Asian cities that previously sat at the top of the table.  

Cleanest city in the world, Singapore sits on fifth due to currency movements measured against the US dollar and driving up the cost of living locally.

This year, corona-related products have been singled out by Mercer, with New York City being the most costly place to pick up your cleaning supplies, including antiseptic spray and soap.

New York City is used as the base city in the index.

Shanghai is the most expensive city on the Chinese mainland, but it is still cheaper than Hong Kong. 

Geneva sits at eighth due to the high value of the Swiss franc.

Berns ranks 9th in the list due to high value of Swiss Francs.

Beijing, ranked tenth in this list, is the second most expensive city in Chinese mainland due to high house rents!