Bangkok now among world's 100 most expensive cities
published : 18 Dec 2018 at 08:29
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Piyachart Maikaew
Bangkok has joined the list of the 100 most expensive cities for expatriate workers for the first time on the strong baht, economic growth and more stable politics, based on cost of living surveys by ECA International.
"Over the past five years, Bangkok has climbed more than 80 places. The Thai capital now sits in 90th place in our cost of living rankings," Lee Quane, Asian director of ECA International, said on Monday. The company provides information for the management and assignment of international employees.
"The Thai baht has strengthened in recent years, as the economy has expanded and the political landscape has stabilised. This means that Thai locations are now significantly more expensive for expat workers than they have been in the past," he said. Bangkok rose 32 places from last year.
The company conducts two cost of living surveys a year. The surveys compare a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by assignees in over 450 locations worldwide. Certain living costs such as accommodation rental, utilities, car purchases and school fees are excluded.
The world's most expensive city for expats is Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan in Central Asia. The city has rocketed to the top spot from 146th in 2017 amid a deepening economic crisis.
"A plunging black market exchange rate and foreign exchange shortages have stoked levels of inflation in Turkmenistan and have led the prices of goods to increase significantly over the past 12 months," Mr Quane said.
In Asia, the second most expensive city is Hong Kong which is the sixth most expensive in the world.
Top 10 most expensive locations in Asia:
Location |
2018 Asia ranking |
2018 global ranking |
2017 global ranking |
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan |
1 |
1 |
146 |
Hong Kong |
2 |
6 |
9 |
Seoul, Korea Republic |
3 |
7 |
11 |
Tokyo, Japan |
4 |
8 |
8 |
Busan, Korea Republic |
5 |
13 |
23 |
Shanghai, China |
6 |
14 |
12 |
Yokohama, Japan |
7 |
15 |
18 |
Nagoya, Japan |
8 |
17 |
19 |
Singapore |
9 |
18 |
21 |
Osaka, Japan |
10 |
19 |
20 |
Top 10 most expensive locations in the world:
Location |
2018 ranking |
2017 ranking |
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan |
1 |
146 |
Geneva, Switzerland |
2 |
4 |
Zurich, Switzerland |
3 |
3 |
Basel, Switzerland |
4 |
5 |
Bern, Switzerland |
5 |
6 |
Hong Kong |
6 |
9 |
Seoul, Korea Republic |
7 |
11 |
Tokyo, Japan |
8 |
8 |
Oslo, Norway |
9 |
7 |
Stavanger, Norway |
10 |
10 |
Source: ECA International
Learn from listening
Vocabulary
- assigned place: given a particular place to do a job -
- basket (noun): a container for holding or carrying things.Baskets are made of thin strips of material that bends and twists easily, for example plastic, wire or wicker - ตะกร้า, กระบุง, กระเช้า
- black market (noun): an illegal form of trade in which foreign money, or goods that are difficult to obtain, are bought and sold - ตลาดมืด
- climb: increase -
- cost of living (noun): the amount of money that people need to pay for ordinary goods and services such as food, clothing and a place to live - ค่าครองชีพ
- crisis: a situation that has reached and extremely difficult or dangerous point - ช่วงวิกฤต
- expatriate (expat): a person living in a country that is not their own - คนที่อาศัยอยู่ต่างประเทศ (เป็นเวลานาน)
- inflation: a general rise in the prices of services and goods in a particular country, resulting in a fall in the value of money - เงินเฟ้อ
- landscape (noun): the main features of a situation or activity - ทิวทัศน์
- stabilise: to reach a state where there are no longer any major changes or problems - กลายเป็นคงที่ (มั่นคง,สม่ำเสมอ,มีเสถียรภาพ) ตรึง
- utility: a service provided for the public, for example an electricity, water or gas supply - สาธารณูปโภค, การบริการสาธารณะ