COSTS: FAR AND AWAY : Expatriates Pay a High Price to Live in Tokyo, Tehran
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GENEVA — Japanese cities remain the most expensive for foreign executives, with Tehran and Oslo not far behind, the private consultant group Business International said Monday.
Its twice-yearly survey of living costs in 103 major cities showed that Tokyo and the Osaka-Kobe area in Japan topped the list for the third year in a row.
Tehran ranked third worldwide, followed by Oslo, Zurich, Geneva and Helsinki.
The survey covered a shopping basket of food, as well as alcoholic drinks, household supplies, personal care items, tobacco, utilities, clothing, domestic help, recreation, entertainment and transportation--but not accommodations.
Prices were converted into U.S. dollars at rates current April 8, Business International said.
Taking New York as a base of 100, the cost-of-living index for Tokyo was 221, Osaka-Kobe 219, Tehran 192, Oslo 152, Zurich 143, Geneva 141, and Helsinki 140.
The survey said the strong foreign exchange value of the yen made the Japanese cities much more expensive for expatriate executives and their families.
The drop in the dollar against European currencies continued to make European cities expensive for expatriates paid in dollars, it added.
Los Angeles ranked 30th worldwide, and was listed as the most expensive U.S. city ahead of Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston.
Taipei at 137 was the third most expensive Asian city, with Singapore fourth at 99. Price increases ahead of the 1988 Olympic Games lifted Seoul to fifth, with 98.
Caracas, with an index of 38, remained the least expensive of the cities surveyed. High inflation in most Latin American cities was offset by regular devaluation of their currencies, the survey said.
Selected cities and their cost-of-living indexes according to the Business International survey. The index uses New York as the base of 100.
The survey covered a shopping basket of food, as well as alcoholic drinks, household supplies, personal care items, tobacco, utilities, clothing, domestic help, recreation, entertainment and transportation--but not accommodations.
1. Tokyo 221
2. Osaka 219
3. Tehran 192
4. Libreville, Gabon 182
5. Brazzaville, Congo 168
6. Lome, Togo 154
7. Oslo 152
8. Abidjan, Ivory Coast 151
9. Dakar, Senegal 143
Zurich 143
10. Geneva 141
11. Helsinki 140
12. Taipei 137
13. Copenhagen 135
14. Vienna 133
15. Munich 126
16. Hamburg 125
Paris 125
17. London 123
Stockholm 123
18. Dublin 122
19. Berlin 121
20. Tel Aviv 120
21. Dusseldorf 119
Lyon, France 119
22. Brussels 118
Frankfurt 118
23. Rome 115
24. Amsterdam 113
25. Barcelona 110
Madrid 110
26. Los Angeles 103
27. Washington D.C. 102
28. New York 100
Chicago 100
San Francisco 100
29. Lima, Peru 99
Moscow 99
Singapore 99
30. Abu Dhabi 98
Miami 98
Montreal 98
Seoul 98
Toronto 98
Houston 98
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