twitter Facebook Linkedin acp Contact Us

Luanda named the most expensive African city for expats

In the global list, Luanda, Angola has dropped a place to since last year to take the spot as the world’s second most expensive country for expatriates. (Image Source: David Stanley/Flickr)

Mercer’s 2016 Cost of Living Survey has named Luanda, Angola, as the most expensive African city for expatriates

According to the survey, Hong Kong is the most expensive city for expatriates in the world, followed by Luanda, Angola, in second position. Zurich and Singapore remain in third and fourth positions, respectively, whereas Tokyo is in fifth, rises six places from last year. Kinshasa, DR Congo, was ranked sixth and appears for the first time in the top 10, rising seven places since 2015.

Other cities appearing in the top 10 of Mercer’s costliest cities for expatriates are Shanghai (7), Geneva (8), N’Djamena (9) and Beijing (10). The world’s least expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer’s survey, are Windhoek (209), Cape Town (208) and Bishkek (207).

Mercer's widely recognized survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation strategies for their expatriate employees. 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.

In Africa, despite dropping off the top spot on the global list, Luanda, Angola (2) remains the highest ranking city in Africa followed by Kinshasa (6). Moving up one spot, N'Djamena (9) is the next African city on the list, followed by Lagos, Nigeria (13) which is up seven places. Dropping three spots, Windhoek (209) in Namibia ranks as the least expensive city in the region and globally. Johannesburg and Cape Town have also dropped fourteen and eight places consecutively.

The report pointed out that despite volatile global markets and growing security issues, organizations continue to leverage global expansion strategies to remain competitive and to grow. Factors including currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and instability of accommodation prices, were cited as contributing to the cost of expatriate packages for employees on international assignments.

List of the most expensive African cities for expatriats

Ranking in Africa World Ranking City Country
1 2 Luanda Angola
2 6 Kinshasa

      Dem. Rep. of the Congo
3 9 Ndjamena Chad
4 13 Lagos Nigeria
5 16 Victoria Seychelles
6 20 Abuja Nigeria
7 23 Brazzaville Congo
8 28 Libreville Gabon
9 36 Conakry Guinea
10 40 Djibouti Djibouti
11 47 Accra Ghana
12 50 Yaounde Cameroun
13 56 Abidjan

Côte d'Ivoire
14 62 Bangui Central African Republic
15 70 Douala Cameroun
16 79 Dakar Senegal
17 91 Cairo Egypt
18 115 Bamako Mali
19 116 Nairobi Kenya
20 124 Cotonou Benin
21 130 Casablanca Morocco
22 132 Lome Togo
23 139 Kigali Rwanda
24 143 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
25 146 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso
26 149 Niamey Niger
27 157 Harare Zimbabwe
28 164 Maputo Mozambique
29 168 Rabat Morocco
30 174 Dar Es Salaam Tanzania
31 178 Nouakchott Mauritania
32 179 Banjul Gambia
33 185 Algiers Algeria
34 187 Kampala Uganda
35 200 Lusaka Zambia
36 201 Gaborone Botswana
37 203 Tunis Tunisia
38 205 Johannesburg South Africa
39 206 Blantyre Malawi
40 208 Cape Town South Africa
41 209 Windhoek Namibia

The Bell team in Richards Bay consists of more than 800 machinists, welders, and assemblers. (Image source: Bell)

GFE Power Product’s extensive range covers generators from 10 kVA up to 3,000 kVA. (Image source: GFE Power Products)

The funding is the largest-ever equity raise in the minigrid industry according to Husk. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The initiative will help African contractors participate in annual infrastructure investments. (Image source: Afreximbank)

ITS has evolved into a sophisticated systems approach, providing numerous opportunities to revolutionise road networks. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Invest International’s Lara Muller; Ivory Coast Minister of Finance and Economy, Adam Coulibaly; and Ambassador Designate to Ivory Coast, Jeroen Kelderhuis. (Image source: Invest International)

The Yellow Metal Machine Rental team with some Wacker Neuson equipment. (Image source: Wacker Neuson)

Although displaying resilience, the report warns that African banks remain exposed to physical climate risks due to both sovereign and industry lending. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

WAA and VCMI will seek to establish regulatory frameworks to enable access to high integrity and fair voluntary carbon markets for WAA member countries. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The parties will also promote the mutual exchange of information and expertise in the field of export credit policies and practices. (Image source: TBD Group)

Inside Condra’s Johannesburg factory: an overhead crane positions an electric motor during assembly of hoist and crab. (Image source: Condra)

IVECO is renewing its entire product range, all at once. (Image source: IVECO)

The MoU was signed alongside the Africa Health Business Symposium. (Image source: Africa CDC)

Both the IMF and EIU expect SSA to rank as the world’s second fastest growing economy in 2024. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

There has been a focus on the sugar industry. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Evolving concept of energy security must address energy demand, system flexibility, technology access and infrastructure development, says IRENA. (Image source: IRENA)

World Bank & African Development Bank partner to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030, leveraging public-private investments. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

At WFES, Gotion High-tech will showcase its latest products and leading green energy solutions at its booth. (Image source: Gotion High-tech)

The new Perkins 5012 is a full-authority electronic engine optimised and purpose-built for power generation applications. (Image source: Perkins)

SSAB will begin deliveries of the new products in 2026.

The key issues restricting sub-Saharan Africa’s manufacturing sector will be unpacked at Manufacturing Indaba later this year. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Hyphen is developing sub-Saharan Africa’s largest, most advanced and only fully-vertical integrated green hydrogen project. (Image source: Hyphen)

According to Liebherr, the Used Equipment Marketplace is extremely user-friendly. (Image source: Liebherr)

Electricity storage will be pivotal in unlocking renewable projects and meeting energy demand. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Africa Data Centres and DPA SA have broken ground on their solar farm in the Free State. (Image source: Africa Data Centres)

A Cat PM310 Cold Planer in action. (Image source: Caterpillar)

A larger stockholding of WEG products facilitates ready access for customers. (Image source: WEG Africa)

African nations have turned to the concept of power pools to address the continent's energy deficit and foster regional cooperation. (Image source: Synergy Consulting)

Dietmar Siersdorfer is expanding his role as Middle East managing director at Siemens Energy to include Africa. (Image source: Siemens Energy)

The Msikaba Bridge has anchor blocks 17 m wide which contain around 21,000 tons of concrete. (Image source: Sanral)