The city of Luanda, the capital of Angola, is the world’s most expensive city, out of 214, for the second year in a raw, according to the 2011 Mercer Cost of Living Survey. Karachi (Pakistan) is the least expensive city.

Tokyo (Japan) is the second most expensive followed by N’Djmena (Chad). Moscow (Russia) follows in fourth place with Geneva (Switzerland) in fifth and Osaka (Japan) in sixth place.

Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, dropped 14 places from 72 in 2011 to 86 in 2011 on the list of the most expensive cities in the world.

Only three European cities remain in the top 10 list of most expensive cities. Moscow (4) — sill the most costly European city on the list — followed by Geneva (5) and Zurich (7). Oslo (15) is down four places from last year, whereas Bern (16) has jumped six and Copenhagen dropped seven places from 10 to 17. London (18) is followed by Milan (25) and Paris (27) both down 10 places from last year. St. Petersburg ranks 29, followed by Rome (34) and Vienna (36).

In the Americas, São Paulo (10) and Rio de Janeiro (12) in Brazil are now the most expensive cities in both North and South America.

The survey covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food , clothing, household goods and entertainment.

All cities in the survey were measures against New York City in US dollars. The cost of housing was an important factor in determining the ranking.

In the United States, New York (32) is the most expensive city followed by Los Angeles (77) and Chicago (108).

Mercer is a global leader in human resources consulting, outsourcing and investment services. The Mercer’s Cost of Living survey was conducted in March 2011.

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