Tokyo costliest city for expats

Asian and European cities again dominated the top ranks of the world's costliest cities for foreigners, but currency swings including a stronger dollar have reshuffled the global rankings, the firm said.

Cities in the United States, China and the Middle East surged from last year. New York jumped from 22nd to eight place, Beijing is now ninth, up from 20th, while Dubai has climbed 32 places to number 20.

London dropped 13 places from last year to be the 16th most expensive city in the world, while Paris slipped one spot to 13th, according to Mercer's annual Cost of Living survey of 143 cities.

Tokyo scores 143.7 points and is nearly three times as costly as the cheapest city, Johannesburg, which has an index score of 49.6.

Osaka was in second place - making Japan the only country with two cities in the top 10 - followed by Moscow in third, Geneva at four and Hong Kong fifth.

Expat life also became cheaper in Australia, New Zealand and India. Sydney has dropped from 15th to 66th and Mumbai has slipped from 48th to 66th place; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.