The Mercer’s Cost of Living Survey 2016 is out and Dubai topped MENA Cities as the most expensive location for employees working abroad. Beirut ranked as the third most expensive city regionally and the 50th most expensive city in the world.

Mercer’s survey 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. The survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. New York is used as the base city, and all cities are compared against it. Currency movements are measured against the US$. [Article]

Top 10 most expensive cities to live in the MENA region:
1- Dubai
2- Abu Dhabi
3- Beirut
4- Riyadh
5- Manama
6- Doha
7- Cairo
8- Muscat
9- Kuwait City
10- Jeddah

Of course what’s worth looking at is the quality of living that is associated with this high cost of living. Beirut ranked in that report 180th worldwide and last in the MENA region.

Top 10 ranked Arab cities in the 2016 quality of living report
1- Dubai (75)
2- Abu Dhabi (81)
3- Muscat (107)
4- Doha (110)
5- Kuwait City (124)
6- Manama (133)
7- Riyadh (164)
8- Jeddah (165)
9- Cairo (171)
10- Beirut (180)