Kuwait Ranked as Cheapest Country to Live in the Gulf for Expats
Kuwait ranks in the last position among Gulf countries and the 8th Arab country in a survey conducted on the global cost of living for expatriates during coronavirus crisis organized by the Mercer Foundation. Kuwait is the cheapest among Gulf countries for expatriates living in 2020.
The Foundation study examined 209 cities from around the world, and Kuwait ranked 113th globally in 2020, whereas in 2019 Kuwait was ranked 119. The study was based on its assessment of cities in terms of the high cost of living around the world, is based on 200 items including the housing costs, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, where Mercer finds that factors such as currency fluctuations, the cost of goods and services, and instability of rent prices, which also includes the expatriate income.
Among Arab countries, Dubai ranked first in the Arab world in terms of the high cost of living for expatriates, as it ranked 23 globally in 2020, compared to 21 globally in 2019, whereas Riyadh in Saudi Arabia came second in the Arab world ranked 31 globally in 2020.
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates ranked third in the Arab world, 39th in the world, Beirut, the Lebanese capital, ranked 4th in the Arab world and 45th in the world, followed by the Bahrain’s capital, Manama, in 5th in the Arab world and 52nd in the world. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ranked sixth in the Arab world and 104 globally, then Doha, the Qatari capital, ranked seventh in the Arab world and 109 globally, and the Kuwait City ranked eighth in the Arab world and 113th globally, then Cairo, the Egyptian capital, ranked ninth in the Arab world and 126 globally, and the Moroccan city of Rabat ranked tenth in the Arab world and 159 globally.
Finally, the city of Tunis is ranked eleventh in the Arab world and 209 in the world, which is the cheapest city in the world for expatriates to live in. In terms of global ranking, Hong Kong maintained the first position as the most expensive city in the world.
