Pakistan’s federal capital, Islamabad, and largest city, Karachi, have been ranked amongst the world’s cheapest cities in 2021 for expatriates.
Karachi has been ranked the ninth cheapest city in the world, while Islamabad has been ranked the eleventh cheapest city in the 2021 rankings.
Mercer, an American asset management firm, analyzed data from 209 cities across five continents to compile the list of the most expensive and most affordable cities in the world in its twenty-seventh annual Cost of Living Survey.
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It analyzed the comparative cost of over 200 items, including accommodation, transportation, food, and household essentials, to rank each city.
Ashgabat, Hong Kong, and Beirut have been ranked as the top three most expensive cities in the world for overseas workers, while Bishkek, Lusaka, and Tbilisi have been ranked as the least expensive cities for expatriates in 2021.
Here is the list of the top 20 most expensive cities in the world:
| Ranking | City | Country |
| 1 | Ashgabat | Turkmenistan |
| 2 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong (SAR) |
| 3 | Beirut | Lebanon |
| 4 | Tokyo | Japan |
| 5 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 6 | Shanghai | China |
| 7 | Singapore | Singapore |
| 8 | Geneva | Switzerland |
| 9 | Beijing | China |
| 10 | Bern | Switzerland |
| 11 | Seoul | South Korea |
| 12 | Shenzhen | China |
| 13 | Ndjamena | Chad |
| 14 | New York City | US |
| 15 | Tel Aviv | Israel |
| 16 | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| 17 | Guangzhou | China |
| 18 | London | UK |
| 19 | Lagos | Nigeria |
| 20 | Libreville | Gabos |
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Here is the list of the top 20 cheapest cities in the world:
| Ranking | City | Country |
| 209 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan |
| 208 | Lusaka | Zambia |
| 207 | Tbilisi | Georgia |
| 206 | Tunis | Tunisia |
| 205 | Brasilia | Brazil |
| 204 | Windhoek | Namibia |
| 203 | Tashkent | Uzbekistan |
| 202 | Gaborone | Botswana |
| 201 | Karachi | Pakistan |
| 200 | Banjul | The Gambia |
| 199 | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 198 | Algiers | Algeria |
| 197 | Minsk | Belarus |
| 196 | Managua | Nicaragua |
| 195 | Yerevan | Armenia |
| 194 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia |
| 193 | Almaty | Kazakhstan |
| 192 | Skopje | North Macedonia |
| 191 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil |
| 190 | Blantyre | Malawi |
