The price of daily life continues to climb across much of the globe, with housing, groceries, and basic services showing sharp increases. 

The graphic above shows Annual Rental Price Change in major cities around the world. It is based on data gathered from Mercer’s Global Cost of Living Survey.

In its 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking, it compares 226 cities worldwide from March 2023 to March 2024. 

TL;DR

• Hong Kong (1st) and Singapore (2nd) remain the world’s most expensive cities for international assignees.
• The least expensive are Lagos (225th) and Abuja (226th), both in Nigeria.
• The average cost of house rental increased the most in Istanbul (by 301.0%) within the period.
• Prices for eggs, olive oil, cups of coffee, blue jeans, and haircuts are most expensive in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Housing Costs Driving Global Differences

The cost of housing remains the single biggest factor in overall living expenses. 

In Istanbul, average rental costs rose by 301% in the past year, while Ankara saw a 141% jump. Dubai recorded a more moderate but still significant increase of 21%, and New Delhi experienced a 13% rise.

Everyday Goods and Services

Mercer’s cost of living index measures prices for a basket of goods, which includes 12 large eggs, one liter of olive oil, espresso coffee at a popular cafe, one liter of gasoline (unleaded 95), men’s blue jeans, and women’s shampoo, haircut, and styling.

Olive Oil

The average cost of olive oil in the selected cities increased by 58.6% between March 2023 and March 2024. 

In Buenos Aires, the price jumped by 694%. Istanbul saw a 144.5% rise. Such increases feed directly into household grocery bills, as olive oil is a staple in many kitchens.

Eggs

The report also shows that in terms of eggs, many places besides Buenos Aires and Istanbul are seeing increases. The average price increase of eggs is 24.1%. 

But in cities like Los Angeles, Paris, New York, and Toronto, the price of 12 eggs has decreased. 

Cup of Coffee

For coffee, the average percentage increase in price within the period was 18.1%. 

Tokyo, Rome, Seoul, Mumbai, Singapore, Nairobi, Beijing, and Dakar saw reductions in espresso café prices.

For haircuts, Buenos Aires again led with increases, followed by Istanbul; cities like New York, Dubai, Seoul, Tokyo and Johannesburg saw decreases in haircut prices.

Blue jeans and haircuts also followed similar patterns. Buenos Aires saw the largest increases in both. 

Istanbul, Nairobi and Dakar also experienced rises in jeans prices, while places like Berlin, Rome and Johannesburg saw jeans prices fall. 

Cost of Living Ranking Changes 

Countries Where Living Expenses Rose the Most 

From 2023 to 2024, the sharpest rises in living costs were recorded in parts of Africa, including Accra, Addis Ababa and Cairo, as well as in Istanbul and Tirana. 

Inflation was the main driver behind most of these surges, especially in the African and Turkish cities. 

Tirana was the exception, where swings in currency values were the bigger factor behind higher costs.

Countries Where Living Expenses Decreased the Most

On the other hand, some of the steepest drops in cost-of-living rankings occurred in Lagos, Luanda and Abuja in Africa, Santiago in South America, and Osaka in East Asia. 

These declines were largely fueled by weaker local currencies, which made goods and services cheaper for expatriates. 

In Santiago, an easing in premium housing prices added to the downward trend.

Interestingly, the falls in rankings do not necessarily mean that everyday life has become cheaper for locals. 

In Nigeria, for instance, inflation climbed above 30% even at the close of 2024.

ELI5

Mercer compared how much that basket cost in cities around the world. Some places, especially Istanbul and Buenos Aires, became much more expensive. Nigeria ranked among the cheapest for foreign workers because its currency lost value, even though Nigerians themselves still faced very high prices due to inflation.

Source: 

 Mercer’s Global Cost of Living Survey.