Tokyo most expensive, Karachi cheapest

Washington—Tokyo is the most expensive city for expatriates in terms of cost of living surpassing the Angolan capital Luanda, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2012 by Mercer.

Osaka ranks third, three places up from the 2011 position. Moscow and Geneva remain in the fourth and fifth positions.

Out of the 214 cities covered in the Mercer survey, Karachi is the least expensive city for expats, less than a third as costly as Tokyo.

“Recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, have affected the rankings for many regions through currency fluctuations, inflation, and volatility in accommodation prices,” said Mercer in a statement.

The rankings were done taking into consideration the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location such as housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. —Online