ISLAMABAD – Karachi in named one of the five least expensive cities to livein according to an annual cost of a living report produced by consultancyMercer.

Islamabad is ranked 19th on the world’s cheapest cities.Islamabad

The survey takes into account factors such as costs of housing, food,recreation, public transport, schools and other daily facilities to drawconclusions.

Others in the 5 cheapest cities list include Banjul, Bishkek, Tunis, andTashkent.

On the other hand, Hong Kong is listed as the world’s most expensive cityto live in followed by Tokyo in second place, Singapore fourth, Seoulfifth, Shanghai seventh and Beijing in ninth place.

The finance hub tops an Asia-dominated list with Outside of Asia, Europeanand African cities were among the priciest cities for employees. Zurichranked third and Luanda came in sixth.

“Asia’s cities, especially Chinese cities, have shown strong performance interms of cost of living rankings, mainly due to currency fluctuations.Companies are moving top talent around the globe in response to skillsshortages,” Mario Ferraro, Mercer’s Global Mobility Practice Leader forAsia, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said in a release.

Dubai is listed as the 26th most expensive city to live in for Expatswhile Abu Dhabi is on 40 and Riyadh is on 45.