Nations with the highest cost of living in 2014
At the beginning of last year we reported on the nations with the highest cost of living so our lovely expat and traveller followers could make an informed decision when weighing up the financial costs of moving overseas.
Twelve months later the global economy is finally starting to recover from the shattering economic crisis which began in 2008, and nations are recording improvements in growth, employment levels and trade.
So what difference does a year make? Or five?
Here we present you with our list of the twenty nations with the highest cost of living in 2014 and comment on what movement has taken place in the ranking over the last five years.
This list is based on figures compiled by Numbeo, the cost of living generator.
The nations are ranked from highest cost of living to lowest.
Ranking | 2009 | 2013 | 2014 |
1st | Ireland | Norway | Norway |
2nd | Netherlands | Switzerland | Switzerland |
3rd | France | Australia | Denmark |
4th | Belgium | Luxembourg | Venezuela |
5th | Sweden | Denmark | Iceland |
6th | Austria | Japan | Luxembourg |
7th | Germany | Sweden | Australia |
8th | Israel | New Zealand | Ireland |
9th | Italy | Bahrain | New Zealand |
10th | South Korea | Iceland | Sweden |
11th | United Kingdom | Ireland | Bahamas |
12th | United States | Venezuela | Finland |
13th | Portugal | Belgium | France |
14th | Australia | Finland | United Kingdom |
15th | Canada | Singapore | Belgium |
16th | Chile | Netherlands | Singapore |
17th | Greece | France | Netherlands |
18th | Singapore | United Kingdom | Italy |
19th | Hong Kong | Italy | Japan |
20th | Czech Republic | Canada | Israel |
As you can see from this table, there have been some serious changes in the cost of living in nations like the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
While countries like Chile, Portugal, the United States and Greece disappeared from the list after the global economic crisis took hold, others (like Israel and the Bahamas) became some of the world’s most expensive countries this year.
What do you think? Do you live in one of these nations? Do you find the cost of living comparatively high? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter, or start a discussion in the Expat Hub Forum!