The Venezuelan capital, Caracas, blighted by crime and shortages, has become the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, according to a cost of living survey released yesterday by ECA International.
Taipei has fallen 11 places to rank 89th globally. It ranks 26th among cities in the Asia-Pacific region, where Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai take the top three spots.
With Venezuela’s official exchange rate stuck at 6.3 bolivars to US$1 and inflation spiraling, the cost of living is 40 percent higher than second-placed Oslo, according to ECA, which provides research on employment, relocation and compensation.
Consumer prices in Venezuela soared 59 percent in the year through March, the highest in the world, after the government introduced two alternative currency systems that trade at about 10 and 50 bolivars per dollar.
Many foreign companies use the official rate for legal reasons.
“It was widely anticipated that a devaluation of the bolivar would take place and that the cost of living in Caracas would subsequently fall,” London-based ECA said in a statement today. “This has not yet happened,” ECA said, as many expenses are still conducted at the official exchange rate.
Living in Caracas gets a lot cheaper if expatriates have access to the black market, where US$1 sells for about 70 bolivars, according to dolartoday.com, a Web site that tracks the rate.
The central bank has not released inflation readings for April or provided data on product scarcity since January, when it said 28 percent of basic goods were out of stock at any given time.
The Manhattan borough of New York is ranked second in the Americas and 39th globally, while Brazilian cities became cheaper for many expatriates with the depreciation of the real over the past 12 months, ECA said. Rio de Janeiro fell 72 places over the year to rank 123rd in the world.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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