Istanbul ranks at 79th spot in cost of living

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Hürriyet Photo

Istanbul ranks 79 in terms of cost of living, according to the 2012 Mercer Cost of Living Study, which analyzed 214 global cities on five continents. Turkey dropped nine notches from last year becoming a cheaper city to live in.

Tokyo was listed as the most expensive city in the world in terms of cost of living with Luanda Angola in second. The report also noted that European cities became cheaper this year compared to the year before.

Mercer, the company behind the survey, provides human resources consulting in more than 40 countries servicing 25,000 clients. They examined more than 200 different factors, such as transportation, housing prices, food, clothing, home appliance and entertainment costs when compiling its cost of living index.

Osaka, Moscow and Geneva ranked in third, fourth and fifth place respectively, according to the 2012 report. Karachi was listed last in terms of cost of living, making it the cheapest city to live in out of the 214 cities listed. The report stated that first place holder Tokyo was three times more expensive than Karachi.

New York, meanwhile, ranked 33 on the list and continues to be the most expensive city in the United States. With the U.S. dollar appreciating, Mercer said many U.S. cities moved up on the list this year.

Factors like natural disasters, economic and political volatility, exchange rate fluctuations, inflation and housing prices are factors that affect cost of living, according to Mercer.