Manila: one of the Cheapest Cities to live in the World in 2006-2007

While Manila is far from perfect due to issues of traffic and air quality, the pros of living in Manila actually outweigh the extremely cheap cost of living here. In a 2006 survey of 144 cities all over the world by Mercer Human Resource consulting Manila ranked 141st (in terms of cost of renting a luxury 2 bedroom unfurnished apartment per month, the cost of a music CD, cost of a bus/subway ride, the cost of a single issue of an international daily newspaper, a cup of coffee plus service, and fastfood hamburger meal). According to the same survey, Manila is also the cheapest in Asia. The indices are composed by the following categories and are weighted: Alcohol and Tobacco (Very, very cheap in Manila so that it is an alcoholic's nightmare! And these are international branded liquor and cigarettes!!), Clothing and Footwear (Being close to China pays alot! Locally manufactured clothes that are very good quality are cheap as well that sometimes Filipinos living abroad have their friends and relatives buy clothing in the Philippines!), Domestic Services, Food at Home, Food Away from Home (there are just about a restaurant in almost every corner), Health and Personal Care (The government is now promoting health tourism), Household supplies, Sports and Leisure (Just check my photo albums), Transportation and Utilities. While I don't have the copy of the 2007 Report yet (while the cost of living went up, Manila still retains the post of the cheapest Asian city to live). Here is the rest of the 2006 report:

Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Cost of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings 2006
Rankings				COL Index
March 2006	March 2005	City	Country	March  2006	March 2005
1	4	MOSCOW	Russia	123.9	119
2	5	SEOUL	South Korea	121.7	115.4
3	1	TOKYO	Japan	119.1	134.7
4	9	HONG KONG	Hong Kong	116.3	109.5
5	3	LONDON	United Kingdom	110.6	120.3
6	2	OSAKA	Japan	108.3	121.8
7	6	GENEVA	Switzerland	103	113.5
8	8	COPENHAGEN	Denmark	101.1	110
9	7	ZURICH	Switzerland	100.8	112.1
10	10	OSLO	Norway	100	105.3
10	13	NEW YORK CITY	United States	100	100
12	15	ST.PETERSBURG	Russia	99.7	99.5
13	11	MILAN	Italy	96.9	104.9
14	19	BEIJING	China	94.9	95.6
15	22	ISTANBUL	Turkey	93.1	93.8
16	12	PARIS	France	93.1	102.2
17	34	SINGAPORE	Singapore	92	88
18	13	DUBLIN	Ireland	91.8	100
19	20	SYDNEY	Australia	91.3	95.2
20	30	SHANGHAI	China	91.2	90.4
21	17	ROME	Italy	89.8	97.3
21	54	KIEV	Ukraine	89.8	84.5
21	16	VIENNA	Austria	89.8	97.8
24	39	TEL AVIV	Israel	89.7	87.6
25	20	HELSINKI	Finland	87.8	95.2
25	73	DUBAI	United Arab Emirates	87.8	77.8
27	22	DOUALA	Cameroon	87.6	93.8
28	29	TAIPEI	Taiwan	86.8	90.6
29	44	LOS ANGELES	United States	86.7	86.7
30	64	ABU DHABI	United Arab Emirates	86	81
31	96	LAGOS	Nigeria	85.5	72.8
32	52	BEIRUT	Lebanon	85.4	84.6
32	50	HANOI	Vietnam	85.4	84.9
34	119	SAO PAULO	Brazil	85	66.6
34	50	SAN FRANCISCO	United States	85	84.9
36	18	STOCKHOLM	Sweden	84.8	96.8
37	56	HO CHI MINH CITY	Vietnam	84.2	83.8
38	52	CHICAGO	United States	84.1	84.6
39	57	MIAMI	United States	83.9	83.3
40	124	RIO DE JANEIRO	Brazil	83.5	65.4
41	123	LUSAKA	Zambia	83.4	65.6
41	24	AMSTERDAM	Netherlands	83.4	93.3
43	45	WHITE PLAINS	United States	83.2	86.6
44	63	SHENZHEN	China	82.9	81.3
45	26	ABIDJAN	Cote d’Ivoire	82.8	93
45	36	DAKAR	Senegal	82.8	87.9
47	82	TORONTO	Canada	82.6	76.2
48	71	JAKARTA	Indonesia	82.4	78.9
48	31	BRATISLAVA	Slovak Republic	82.4	89.9
50	28	PRAGUE	Czech Republic	82.1	90.8
51	58	ALGIERS	Algeria	82	81.9
52	75	ALMATY	Kazakhstan	81.9	77.6
53	46	MADRID	Spain	81.6	86
54	65	GUANGZHOU	China	81.5	80.6
55	74	SAN JUAN	Puerto Rico	81.4	77.7
56	87	VANCOUVER	Canada	81.2	74.3
56	43	BARCELONA	Spain	81.2	86.9
56	33	LUXEMBOURG	Luxembourg	81.2	88.2
59	41	ATHENS	Greece	81.1	87.2
60	40	GLASGOW	United Kingdom	80.7	87.5
61	34	FRANKFURT	Germany	80.5	88
62	67	AMMAN	Jordan	80.4	80.1
62	32	DUSSELDORF	Germany	80.4	88.4
62	27	WARSAW	Poland	80.4	91.5
65	37	MUNICH	Germany	80.2	87.8
65	24	BUDAPEST	Hungary	80.2	93.3
67	61	HONOLULU	United States	80	81.4
68	105	MUMBAI	India	79.9	70.8
69	47	BIRMINGHAM	United Kingdom	79.7	85.8
70	41	BRUSSELS	Belgium	79.5	87.2
71	98	CALGARY	Canada	79.3	72.5
72	38	BERLIN	Germany	79.2	87.7
73	110	NEW DELHI	India	79	69.9
74	68	MELBOURNE	Australia	78.8	80
75	91	ACCRA	Ghana	78.6	73.6
76	70	HOUSTON	United States	78.5	79.1
77	49	HAMBURG	Germany	78.2	85
78	72	KUWAIT CITY	Kuwait	78	78.3
79	48	ZAGREB	Croatia	77.7	85.2
80	107	MONTREAL	Canada	77.6	70.7
81	54	RIGA	Latvia	77.2	84.5
81	95	MEXICO CITY	Mexico	77.2	73.1
83	78	WASHINGTON	United States	77	77.4
84	80	MORRISTOWN	United States	76.8	76.9
84	79	BOSTON	United States	76.8	77
86	83	ATLANTA	United States	76.3	76.1
87	86	MANAMA	Bahrain	76.1	74.5
88	59	CASABLANCA	Morocco	75.9	81.6
88	66	LISBON	Portugal	75.9	80.2
90	122	OTTAWA	Canada	75.6	66.4
91	128	SANTIAGO	Chile	74.5	64.8
91	61	LYON	France	74.5	81.4
93	108	GUATEMALA CITY	Guatemala	74.3	70.4
93	97	CAIRO	Egypt	74.3	72.5
93	93	PERTH	Australia	74.3	73.5
96	60	TALLINN	Estonia	73.7	81.5
97	94	DENVER	United States	73.6	73.2
98	88	RIYADH	Saudi Arabia	73.5	74.1
99	84	BRISBANE	Australia	73.2	74.9
100	89	JEDDAH	Saudi Arabia	72.9	73.9
100	69	AUCKLAND	New Zealand	72.9	79.6
102	103	SEATTLE	United States	71.9	71.4
103	115	MONTERREY	Mexico	71.6	67.7
103	102	ST. LOUIS	United States	71.6	71.6
105	76	WELLINGTON	New Zealand	71.1	77.5
106	76	LJUBLJANA	Slovenia	71	77.5
107	119	NAIROBI	Kenya	70.9	66.6
108	89	ADELAIDE	Australia	70.6	73.9
109	105	KINGSTON	Jamaica	70	70.8
110	109	CLEVELAND	United States	69.8	70.3
111	112	PORTLAND	United States	69.7	68.8
111	81	SOFIA	Bulgaria	69.7	76.3
113	111	PITTSBURGH	United States	69.4	69.2
114	117	KUALA LUMPUR	Malaysia	69.3	67.1
114	103	BUCHAREST	Romania	69.3	71.4
116	91	VILNIUS	Lithuania	69.2	73.6
117	116	JOHANNESBURG	South Africa	69.1	67.4
118	100	LIMASSOL	Cyprus	68.7	71.9
118	118	LIMA	Peru	68.7	66.9
118	113	BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN	Brunei	68.7	68.5
121	114	PANAMA CITY	Panama	68.5	68.3
122	101	DETROIT	United States	68.3	71.8
123	85	LEIPZIG	Germany	68.1	74.8
124	119	WINSTON SALEM	United States	66.7	66.6
125	129	TEHRAN	Iran	66.4	64.4
126	99	SANTO DOMINGO	Dominican Republic	65.3	72.3
127	125	BANGKOK	Thailand	64.9	65.3
128	131	TIANJIN	China	63.6	62.5
129	130	BLANTYRE	Malawi	63.1	62.7
130	133	BOGOTA	Colombia	62.7	62.7
131	127	DACCA (DHAKA)	Bangladesh	62.5	62.5
132	132	COLOMBO	Sri Lanka	61.4	60
133	126	TUNIS	Tunisia	60.7	65.2
134	135	SAN JOSE	Costa Rica	58.1	58
135	137	QUITO	Ecuador	57.4	54.6
136	138	CARACAS	Venezuela	57.2	54.4
137	138	CHENNAI (MADRAS)	India	56.7	54.4
138	140	MONTEVIDEO	Uruguay	56.5	53.5
139	141	BANGALORE	India	56.4	51.7
140	136	KARACHI	Pakistan	56.1	56.1
141	143	MANILA	Philippines	56	49.8
142	142	BUENOS AIRES	Argentina	54.8	50.3
143	134	HARARE	Zimbabwe	50.9	58.4
144	144	ASUNCION	Paraguay	43.5	40.3

Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2007 – city rankings
United Kingdom
London, 18 June 2007

    *
      Moscow remains the world’s most expensive city for expatriates; Asuncion in Paraguay is the cheapest
    *
      European cities dominate the top of the list
    *
      Many North American cities have dropped sharply in the rankings
    *
      London climbs three places to rank second  

Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. London is in second position, climbing three places since last year. Seoul moves down one place in the ranking to take third place, followed by Tokyo in fourth. Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city for the fifth year running.

With New York as the base city scoring 100 points, Moscow scores 134.4 and is over two-and-a-half times costlier than Asuncion, which has an index of 50. Even so, the gap between the world’s most and least expensive cities appears to be narrowing.   

                                                                                                                                                                                               

Mercer’s survey covers 143 cities* across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.


“There have been some significant changes in the rankings since last year. These are primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations - in particular, the weakening of the US Dollar and strengthening of the Euro,” said Rebecca Powers, a principal and senior consultant at Mercer.

 

She added: “As companies continue to send employees on expatriate assignments, they must closely monitor changes in cost of living to ensure their expatriate compensation packages are fair and competitive.”
Europe, Middle East and Africa

Moscow is the most expensive city in Europe and in the rest of the world, for the second year running, with a score of 134.4 (compared with 123.9 in 2006).  “The appreciation of the Rouble against the US Dollar, combined with ever-increasing accommodation charges, has driven up costs for expatriates in Moscow,” said Yvonne Traber, research manager and senior associate at Mercer.

 

London has climbed three positions to second place in the ranking (score 126.3). “Steep property rental costs, together with the strengthening of the British Pound compared to the US Dollar, have contributed to the city’s high ranking,” commented Ms Yvonne Traber.

 

Other costly European cities include Copenhagen in 6th place (110.2), Geneva in 7th (109.8) and Zurich in 9th (107.6). Oslo remains in 10th place with a score of 105.8 while Milan climbs two places to position 11 (104.4). Sofia in Bulgaria is Europe’s least expensive city in 108th place with a score of 72.5.

 

The strengthening of the Euro has resulted in a number of European cities moving significantly up the ranking this year. For example, Stockholm has moved up from 36th position to reach 23rd place (score 93.1) while Amsterdam has climbed from 41st position to 25th (92.2). Cities in Spain, Greece, Germany and the UK also rank notably higher this year.


Ms Yvonne Traber commented: “The relative strength of the Euro and other European currencies, including the Swiss Franc and the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Krone, has pushed up the living costs faced by expatriates in many European countries.”

 

Tel Aviv is the costliest city in the Middle East. The Israeli city ranks in 17th place and scores 97.7.  Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates have moved down in the ranking this year. The main reason for this drop is that the UAE Dirham is pegged to the US Dollar. The majority of African cities covered by the survey come in the bottom half of the ranking.
The Americas

New York remains the most expensive city in North America but drops five places to position 15 (score 100).  Other North American cities have dropped more steeply and only New York and Los Angeles (position 42, score 87.1) rank in the top 50 cities.

 

“The decline of most US cities in the ranking can be attributed to the depreciation of the US dollar against the Euro and other major currencies worldwide.  The change reflects a reversal of the situation experienced this time last year, when the majority of US cities climbed the ranking due to the strength of the dollar,” said Ms Powers.

 

Toronto, the most expensive city in Canada, has dropped 35 places to position 82 (score 78.8). Calgary and Vancouver have also tumbled down the rankings, sliding from 71st place to 92nd  and 56th to 89th respectively. Ottawa remains the cheapest Canadian city in 109th position scoring 72.3. Canadian cities have traditionally rated favourably in the worldwide ranking. The new scores reflect a low rate of inflation and stable housing prices. In addition, while it has appreciated slightly against the US Dollar, the Canadian Dollar has depreciated nearly 13% against the Euro since last year’s survey.

 

Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have dropped significantly in the ranking, but remain the most expensive cities in Latin America. Sao Paulo is now placed 62nd, compared with 34th in 2006, and is followed by Rio de Janeiro in 64th place (position 40 in 2006). Although the Brazilian Real has remained stable against the US Dollar over the last 12 months, the Brazilian cities surveyed have been pushed down the ranking as they give way to European cities that are ascending due to the buoyancy of the Euro.

 

Globally, the least costly city is Asuncion in Paraguay for the fifth consecutive year (score 50). Other low-ranking cities include Karachi, Quito and Montevideo in 142nd (score 56.1), 141st (56.3) and 140th place (58.4) respectively.
Asia

Four of the world’s top 10 costliest cities for expatriates are in Asia. Seoul ranks in 3rd place (score 122.4), Tokyo in 4th (122.1) and Hong Kong in 5th (119.4) – all have been pushed down one place this year.

 

Chinese cities have moved down the ranking this year. Beijing ranks 20th and scores 95.9, while Shanghai is in 26th place with a score of 92.1. Over the past 12 months, the value of the Chinese Yuan has decreased by around 6% against the Euro. This factor, together with a low inflation rate and stable property rental prices, has kept the major Chinese cities from moving up the ranking. Accommodation costs have not escalated because, while demand is increasing, the availability of high-quality rentals in these cities is also good.

 

In contrast, elsewhere in Asia, the cost of international-standard accommodation has pushed some cities up the ranking. For example, sharp increases in house prices have contributed to Singapore climbing from 17th to 14th position. Rising property prices have also caused Indian cities to move up the ranking – for example, Mumbai has jumped from position 68 to 52 (score 84.9).     
Australasia

Wellington is the least costly city in this region in 111th place with a score of 71.8.  Auckland climbs one place to rank 99th (score 73.9). Expatriates in Australia continue to face higher living costs than their counterparts in New Zealand. Sydney remains the most expensive city in Australia at position 21 with a score of 94.9. Melbourne occupies position 60, up 14 places from last year, and scores 82.5. Adelaide is in 96th place (score 74.7).

 

Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed. For further information or to purchase copies of the city reports, visit www.mercerHR.com/costofliving, or call Information Product Solutions, Geneva on +41 22 869 3000.   

Notes to Editors:

The figures for Mercer’s cost of living comparisons are based on a survey conducted in March 2007. The 2007 comparisons are based on a similar survey conducted in March 2006.  The information is used by governments and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad. The choice of cities surveyed is based on the demand for corresponding data from companies and governmental organizations.

Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a global leader for HR and related financial advice and services, with more than 15,000 employees serving clients in more than 180 cities and 42 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.mercerHR.com.


Exchange rates used in attached table of cost comparisons:

1 GBP = 1.944390 USD
1 GBP = 1.476181 EUR

*Harare are been excluded from this year’s rankings because the severe economic crisis in Zimbabwe has rendered costs there incomparable.

Note that the Cost of Living Indicies contained in our press release and this related article have been prepared specifically for this press release and article. The indices are based on Mercer's cost of living database and are modified to include housing and to reflect constant weighting and basket items. The results may differ from those calculated for Mercer's clients who use the results solely for the purpose of expatriate compensation. We do not recommend that expatriates use these figures to compare their own compensation packages.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Actually there are two leading surveys for cost of living, one is being done by The Economist Intelligence Unit, of which Oslo leads the pack. Manila tho making a rise due to economic growth, is still the cheapest place to live in.