Nairobi has climbed two places from position 97 among the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates. According to Mercer, Nairobi now ranks number 95 for expatriates working for multinational brands, organizations, and governments.
The research report, Cost of Living Survey, pits Nairobi against 209 cities based on the availability of international goods and services. This includes the comparative cost of over 200 items to help navigate expatriate packages and compensation.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic, it spurs sudden changes to the vetting of locations. Expats in Nairobi currently experience a hire purchase power with the Kenya Shilling depreciating 3.9 percent to exchnage at 106.6 units.
According to Yvonne Traber, Global Mobility Product Solutions Leader at Mercer, the wild foreign exchange may hurt expatriates based on location.
“This volatility can affect mobile employees in a variety of ways, from shortages and price adjustments for goods and services to supply chain disruptions or when employees are paid in home country currency and need to exchange funds into the host country for local purchases.”
Other African countries to make a list also included Ndjamena(15), Lagos (18), Kinshasa (24), Libreville (33) and Abidjan (36). Among the cheapest destinations were Gaborone(199), Lusaka(201), Banjul(204), Windhoek(208), and Tunis(209).
