INTERNATIONAL REMUNERATION
London most expensive city in EU
If you're responsible for determining compensation allowances for expatriate workers, check out the latest worldwide cost-of-living survey by human resource consultancy William M Mercer.
It's a valuable source of information, underpinned by detailed research, for those of you struggling with postings abroad.
According to Mercer, London is "by far the most expensive city" among European Union states, and the tenth most costly in the world.
But Japan's cities are in the unenviable position of having the highest cost of living in the world.
Mercer's worldwide cost-of-living index, March 2000
| Rank | City | Index |
| 1 | Tokyo, Japan | 164.90 |
| 2 | Osaka, Japan | 143.60 |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 141.50 |
| 4 | Beijing, China | 138.30 |
| 5 | Moscow, Russia | 136.10 |
| 6 | Shanghai, China | 128.00 |
| 7 | Seoul, South Korea | 111.10 |
| 8 | St. Petersburg, Russia | 109.70 |
| 9 | Guangzhou, China | 107.90 |
| 10 | London, England | 106.90 |
| 11 | Taipei, Taiwan | 102.80 |
| 12 | Shenzhen, China | 100.10 |
| 13 | New York City, USA | 100.00 |
| 14 | Hanoi, Vietnam | 94.90 |
| 15 | Singapore | 94.70 |
| 16 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 92.70 |
| 17 | Cairo, Egypt | 91.90 |
| 18 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 91.00 |
| 19 | Tel Aviv, Israel | 88.70 |
| 20 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 88.20 |
| 21 | Oslo, Norway | 87.50 |
| 22 | Beirut, Lebanon | 86.20 |
| 23 | Amman, Jordan | 85.90 |
| 24 | Jakarta, Indonesia | 85.70 |
| 24 | Zurich, Switzerland | 85.70 |
| 25 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 85.60 |
Total index including housing, with New York as the base of 100 index points.
Source: William M. Mercer Companies LLC.
Survey details
Title: William M Mercer's cost of living 2000 survey.
Base date: March 2000.
Methodology: the survey, which covers 146 cities, measures the comparative costs of over 200 items in each location. These included the cost of housing, food, clothing and household goods, together with transport and entertainment.
Availability: contact your local Mercer office (London, tel: 020 8686 2466).
Want to know more?
Take a look at the press release on Mercer's web site . . . www.wmmercer.com