LAGOS AND DOUALA STILL THE TWO MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES IN AFRICA AND AMONG THE TOP 40 in THE WORLD !!!
The 2008 ranking of the most expensive cities to live in on the Planet is out. Published by the firm MERCER , this ranking is based on more than 200 goods and services, and conducted by professional researchers simultaneously in each of the 250 locations. Among the criteria looked at: the carefully chosen vendors that can reflect outlets where expatriates can buy goods and services of international quality. In Africa, Douala (Cameroon) and Lagos (Nigeria) have shared the pole position the last few years with Douala climbing all the way to the 24th place in the World and 1st in Africa in 2007. Indeed those who have traveled recently in either city can concur that the cost of living there is unmatched anywhere else on the continent-although Dakar (Senegal) makes an appearance.
For the complete ranking,THE COMPLETE RANKING of THE COST OF LIVING SURVEY for 2008
Rank March 2008 |
Rank March 2007 |
City |
Country |
Cost of living Index March 2008 |
Cost of living Index March 2007 |
1 |
1 |
Moscow |
Russia |
142.4 |
134.4 |
2 |
4 |
Tokyo |
Japan |
127.0 |
122.1 |
3 |
2 |
London |
UK |
125.0 |
126.3 |
4 |
10 |
Oslo |
Norway |
118.3 |
105.8 |
5 |
3 |
Seoul |
South Korea |
117.7 |
122.4 |
6 |
5 |
Hong Kong |
China |
117.6 |
119.4 |
7 |
6 |
Copenhagen |
Denmark |
117.2 |
110.2 |
8 |
7 |
Geneva |
Switzerland |
115.8 |
109.8 |
9 |
9 |
Zurich |
Switzerland |
112.7 |
107.6 |
10 |
11 |
Milan |
Italy |
111.3 |
104.4 |
11 |
8 |
Osaka |
Japan |
110.0 |
108.4 |
12 |
13 |
Paris |
France |
109.4 |
101.4 |
13 |
14 |
Singapore |
Singapore |
109.1 |
100.4 |
14 |
17 |
Tel Aviv |
Israel |
105.0 |
97.7 |
15 |
21 |
Sydney |
Australia |
104.1 |
94.9 |
16 |
16 |
Dublin |
Ireland |
103.9 |
99.6 |
16 |
18 |
Rome |
Italy |
103.9 |
97.6 |
18 |
12 |
St. Petersburg |
Russia |
103.1 |
103.0 |
19 |
19 |
Vienna |
Austria |
102.3 |
96.9 |
20 |
20 |
Beijing |
China |
101.9 |
95.9 |
21 |
22 |
Helsinki |
Finland |
101.1 |
93.3 |
22 |
15 |
New York City |
US |
100.0 |
100.0 |
23 |
38 |
Istanbul |
Turkey |
99.4 |
87.7 |
24 |
26 |
Shanghai |
China |
98.3 |
92.1 |
25 |
25 |
Amsterdam |
Netherlands |
97.0 |
92.2 |
25 |
29 |
Athens |
Greece |
97.0 |
90.6 |
25 |
62 |
São Paulo |
Brazil |
97.0 |
82.8 |
28 |
26 |
Madrid |
Spain |
96.7 |
92.1 |
29 |
49 |
Prague |
Czech Rep. |
96.0 |
85.6 |
30 |
37 |
Lagos |
Nigeria |
95.9 |
88.0 |
31 |
31 |
Barcelona |
Spain |
95.2 |
89.2 |
31 |
64 |
Rio de Janeiro |
Brazil |
95.2 |
82.5 |
31 |
23 |
Stockholm |
Sweden |
95.2 |
93.1 |
34 |
24 |
Douala |
Cameroon |
95.1 |
92.9 |
35 |
67 |
Warsaw |
Poland |
95.0 |
82.4 |
36 |
64 |
Melbourne |
Australia |
94.2 |
82.5 |
37 |
39 |
Munich |
Germany |
93.1 |
87.6 |
38 |
45 |
Berlin |
Germany |
93.0 |
85.9 |
39 |
44 |
Brussels |
Belgium |
92.9 |
86.5 |
40 |
40 |
Frankfurt |
Germany |
92.5 |
87.4 |
41 |
33 |
Dakar |
Senegal |
92.2 |
89.0 |
42 |
28 |
Kiev |
Ukraine |
91.7 |
91.4 |
43 |
43 |
Luxembourg |
Luxembourg |
91.3 |
87.0 |
44 |
30 |
Almaty |
Kazakhstan |
90.7 |
89.6 |
45 |
31 |
Bratislava |
Slovakia |
90.6 |
89.2 |
46 |
45 |
Düsseldorf |
Germany |
90.4 |
85.9 |
46 |
72 |
Riga |
Latvia |
90.4 |
81.5 |
48 |
52 |
Mumbai |
India |
90.3 |
84.9 |
49 |
59 |
Zagreb |
Croatia |
90.0 |
83.5 |
50 |
57 |
Hamburg |
Germany |
89.9 |
84.2 |

Oga !
I guess we go need mo’ dollars for next December holidays oh !
We’ll still manage it
By: C.S. Ebong on August 7, 2008
at 9:51 am
That’s not hard to believe!Every year it gets more expensive.
Yaounde and Abuja are the places to be at now i guess..
By: Geraldine on August 9, 2008
at 1:44 pm
C.S big man,
I know you can always manage. This will not affect you, even if the dollar gets lower. Some people are just “currency-proof” during the december holidays in Africa! Lol
By: Armel on August 10, 2008
at 4:27 pm
Well I am not suprised about Douala in Cameroon. In a coutry as such wherein every thing is falling apart, we can only expect the worst still to come.
God save Cameroon
By: Abongta S M on September 18, 2008
at 10:52 pm
Unbelievable! I have mixed feelings. Good news and not so good news! I cannot believe Douala Cameroon has become the most expensive city in the African Continent in 2008! Wow! How can you explain that Douala Cameroon is more expensive than Los Angeles San Francisco? At this rate can we afford to enjoy this city when we visit home?
By: a&e digital on September 28, 2009
at 7:56 am