Mercer’s 2019 Cost of Living Survey ranked Beirut as the 53rd most expensive city in the world, and fourth among Arab cities after Dubai (#21), Abu Dhabi (#33) and Riyadh (#35). “Mercer’s widely recognized survey is one of the world’s most comprehensive, and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. New York City is used as the base city for all comparisons, and currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The survey includes over 500 cities throughout the world; this year’s ranking includes 209 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.” [Source].

Beirut gained 12 spots from last year.

World wide, eight out of the top ten of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates are Asian cities, resulting from high costs for expatriate consumer goods and a dynamic housing market. Tokyo (2), Singapore (3) and Seoul (4) top the list, while the costliest city in the world for the second consecutive year is Hong Kong (1). Other cities appearing in the top ten are Zurich (5), Shanghai (6), Ashgabat (7), Beijing (8), New York City (9), and Shenzhen (10). The world’s least expensive cities for expatriates are Tunis (209), Tashkent (208), and Karachi (207).

Arab cities Rankings:
———————
Dubai 21
Abu Dhabi 33
Riyadh 35
Beirut 53
Manama 57
Amman 75
Jeddah 100
Muscat 103

You can check out the full rankings [here].