Amsterdam fell to the 50th place in Mercer’s Cost of Living survey, which ranks the most expensive cities in the world for expats.

The survey covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.

"In most Western European cities the cost of living for expatriates has remained relatively stable over the last 12 months. However, many of the region’s cities have still dropped in the ranking. In large, this is because all cities are compared to New York and price increases there have been more significant than in most European cities," stated senior researcher Ms Constantin-Métral.

Note that the Netherlands’ capital was at number 35 last year and number 25 two years ago.

About Mercer
Mercer is a global leader in human resource consulting, outsourcing and investment services as well as a premier provider of advice and market data on international and expatriate compensation management.

› For more information have a look at Worldwide Cost of Living survey 2011 - City rankings.

Top 50 cities: cost of living
› Luanda, Angola
› Tokyo, Japan
› N’Djamena, Chad
› Moscow, Russia
› Geneva, Switzerland
› Osaka, Japan
› Zurich, Switzerland
› Singapore, Singapore
› Hong Kong, Hong Kong
› Sao Paulo, Brazil
› Nagoya, Japan
› Libreville, Gabon
› Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
› Sydney, Australia
› Oslo, Norway
› Bern, Switzerland
› Copenhagen, Denmark
› London, UK
› Seoul, South Korea
› Beijing, China
› Shanghai, China
› Melbourne, Australia
› Niamey, Niger
› Tel Aviv, Israel
› Victoria, Seychelles
› Milan, Italy
› Paris, France
› Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
› St. Petersburg, Russia
› Perth, Australia
› Brisbane, Australia
› New York, United States
› Brasilia, Brazil
› Rome, Italy
› Canberra, Australia
› Vienna, Austria
› Noumea, New Caledonia
› Guangzhou, China
› Djibouti, Djibouti
› Stockholm, Sweden
› Lagos, Nigeria
› Helsinki, Finland
› Shenzhen, China
› Dakar, Senegal
› Khartoum, Sudan
› Adelaide, Australia
› Prague, Czech Republic
› Baku, Azerbaijan
› Bangui, Central African Rep.
› Amsterdam, the Netherlands