Lisbon among the 100 most expensive cities to live

Lisbon is the 93rd most expensive city to live in the world, climbing 44 places from 2017.

This is according to a survey from Mercer which lists Hong Kong as the most expensive city to live in the world.

In 2107, the Portuguese capital was in 137th place and the leap to 93rd place is the greatest and quickest ever since the study began.

“The factors behind this climb are mostly to do with variations of the dollar against the Euro, but also reflect an overall rise in prices in the city in areas such a property, restaurants and fuel” states the study.

This is the 24th annual comparative study undertaken by Mercer which was produced in May 2018.

From 2016-2017 Lisbon had fallen three places in this world league table. This year Hong Kong overtook Luanda, Angola as the costliest city worldwide in which to live. Luanda is currently in 6th place.

As an example, the study compared rental costs for a three-bedroom property in “Lisbon’s upmarket areas” which cost around €2,650 per month, while in Hong King the same property configuration rises to €10,800.

The cost of renting a two-bed in Lisbon is €2000 while in Paris is climbs to €2,600 and €3,500 in London.

The top five most expensive cities to live are Tokyo, Zurich, Singapore and Seoul while Zurich continues to be the most expensive city in Europe.

The study was undertaken to help multinational companies and governments define strategies for its overseas workers and included 375 cities all over the world. Lisbon was the only Portuguese city included in the index.