Seoul 11th most expensive city for expats: survey

Seoul's night view

By Lee Hyo-jin, Park Si-soo

What is the world's most expensive city for expats?

Seoul ranks 11th out of 209 cities this year in a survey conducted in March by Mercer, a U.S. human resources consulting firm. It is down seven places from last year.

Hong Kong has topped the list for two years in a row, followed by Ashgabat, Tokyo, Zurich and Singapore.

Mercer said Hong Kong kept the title due to currency movements measured against the U.S. dollar, which resulted in an increase in the cost of living.

Mercer has released the cost of living survey annually for 26 years, based on a comparison of more than 200 goods and services, including housing, transportation, food, household goods and entertainment.

The world's least-expensive cities for expats are Tunis (209), Windhoek (208) and Tashkent and Bishkek, which tied to rank 206.