Worldwide Cost of Living ranking 2007

• Africa still home to survey’s most expensive and least expensive locations
• Strong currencies and food inflation pushing up cost of living in developing economies of China, India and Eastern Europe
• Asian cities getting more expensive; Seoul most expensive Asian city

Luanda, is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey conducted by ECA International, the world's largest membership organisation for International Human Resource professionals. Oslo is in second place followed by Moscow and Stavanger, while Seoul, Asia’s most expensive city, is ranked 7th. Maseru in Lesotho remains the cheapest city in the survey for expatriates.

Many of the Asian region’s most notable changes have been in India where fast economic growth has pushed up the cost of many goods and services. This, coupled with the appreciation of the rupee against most major currencies, has made Indian locations significantly more expensive for expatriates. Mumbai and New Delhi have risen 14 and 16 places respectively in the ranking, while Hyderabad is up 21 places. Bangalore has risen 15 places to 205th position – distancing itself for the first time from the bottom five in the ranking.