Tokyo has regained its position as the world's most expensive city for expats, according to a report published by Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA), a British global outsourcer. The agency has drawn up an analysis of the financial compensation - the so-called "pocket money" - that foreign workers should receive to cover extra costs. ECA is a leader in the provision and assignment of employees around the world.

The result is in itself not surprising, given the exorbitant prices for basic necessities and services. But it's the continued strength of the Japanese yen, which has gained in value by some 30 percent against the US dollar after a fall three years ago, that has contributed to putting Japan at the top of the ranking. The most expensive city in Europe is still the Norwegian capital, Oslo. Scandinavian and Japanese cities like Copenhagen, Stavanger, Nagoya and Yokohama keep dominating the top ten of most expensive cities.

Luanda

Remarkable is the third place occupied by the Angolan capital Luanda. ECA's Josephine Wooley says this is the result of scarcity and an increasingly strong local currency, the Kwanza.

"Twenty-five years of war have completely destroyed the country's infrastructure, complicating the supply of products typically found in the expat's 'shopping cart'. And the currency keeps getting stronger".

Five African cities have hit the top-25 of most expensive cities to live in. After Luanda, Libreville (13th), Abidjan (17th), Abuja (18th) and Kinshasa (23rd) are amongst the places were expats can expect to digg deep in their wallet. Abidjan aside, all cities are the gateway to oil producing and exporting regions.

Shopping cart

ECA specifically focuses on the expats 'pocket money' by putting together a 'shopping cart'. Josephine Wooley says this is a major indicator for additional costs facing expats for which they should receive compensation.

We put together a shopping cart including some 130 good and services for expats, varying from groceries to a visit to the barber's or a garage, products expats would also purchase in their country of origin. So we are looking at the price of potatoes for an Irishman in Asia, instead of rice which is much cheaper over there".

In 62nd place 

The Mercer research bureau also publishes an annual list of the costs of living for expats. The list includes costs like rent, heating and power, which leads to different results compared to the ECA ranking. Mercer puts Moscow in the top-three of most expensive cities, while the Russian capital comes 15th on the ECA list.

Amsterdam, this year in 62nd place, is the most expensive Dutch city for expats, but dropped five places compared to 2009, and so became just a little more affordable.