Lisbon is the 109th most expensive city in the world in terms of cost of living for expatriates, 26 positions less than in 2021, on a classification led by Hong Kong, China, according to the Mercer study published on Wednesday.
“Considering only the European continent, Lisbon is the 36th most expensive city for expats“, concludes the “Cost of Living 2022” study, launched by the consulting firm Mercer, which includes 227 cities around the world where expatriate workers live, confirming that the international mobility standards of employees are evolving as a result of the exchange rate and inflation and the rise of remote and flexible work.
The study was carried out based on the joint analysis of the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each locality, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household products and entertainment, and that uses New York as the base city for all comparisonsincluding currency movements, are measured against the US dollar.
In the classification Globally, Hong Kong is once again the most expensive city in the world for expats, a position it had held for consecutive years, but in 2021 it lost out to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, taking second place.
According to the “Cost of Living 2022” study, the Swiss cities of Zurich (2nd), Geneva (3rd), Basel (4th) and Bern (5th) round out the top five most expensive locations in the world for expats.
On the European continent, in addition to the four cities of Switzerland, the classification is run by country capitals, namely Copenhagen (Denmark), which appears in the 11th position worldwide, London (UK, 15), Vienna (Austrian, 21), amsterdam (Netherlands, 25) and Oslo (Norway, 27).
In the ‘top-10’ of the most expensive European cities for expatriates is the German city of Munich, which appears in position 33 of the classification global.
Lisbon, the only Portuguese city included in the studyfell 26 positions in the classification globally, becoming the 109th most expensive city in the world in terms of cost of living for expatriates and the 36th at a European level, ranking below the middle of the table of 57 European cities, behind cities such as Madrid (90th position worldwide) or Barcelona (78th).
For Eastern Europe, the most expensive city is Prague (Czech Republic), which ranks 60th out of 227 cities, followed by Riga (Latvia, 79), Bratislava (Slovakia, 105) and Tallinn (Estonia, 140), says the study. , which indicates that the cheapest is sarajevoin Bosnia and Herzegovina, it ranks 209th in the world and at the bottom of the list of European cities.
The rise of remote and flexible work, the war in Ukraine, currency fluctuations and widespread inflation are having a material impact on employee compensation, which could have dire consequences for companies in the global battle for talent. of life 2022”.
Tiago Borges, career business leader Mercer, quoted in a statement about the study, affirms that “the volatility triggered by Covid-19 and exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine has fueled global economic and political uncertainty”, a situation that is reflected “with the significant increase in inflation in most countries. “countries around the world”, which expatriates are concerned about their purchasing power and socio-economic stability.
“Both of them inflation since exchange rate fluctuations directly influence purchasing power of employees who work outside their country of origin”, explains Tiago Borges, who highlights that the increase in remote and flexible work has also led many employees to reconsider their priorities, the balance between work and family life and the choice of location of residence.
The data presented in the Mercer study, in addition to demonstrating that “working and economic conditions around the world are evolve faster than before“, allows companies to assess the costs of international contracts in times of uncertainty.
Source: Observadora
