(Ecofin Agency) - This year, Luanda, Angola’s capital, is the most expensive city worldwide for expatriates, despite the local currency, kwanza, weakening against dollar, according to Mercer’s annual Cost of living survey. The African city which held that position in 2015 beats Hong Kong which snatched it last year.

In Mercey’s global ranking, after Luanda, in Africa, come Victoria (14th worldwide), Ndjamena (16th), Kinshasa (18th), and many more.

According to the survey, factors such as the instability of rent costs, inflation, currency fluctuation and variations in prices of goods and services have affected the business environment, thus the purchasing power of expatriates.

This year, Mercer investigated 209 cities in the world ranked them based on prices of more than 200 goods and services, especially in the housing, food, clothing, transport, entertainment and telecommunication sectors.

Top 10 most expensive African cities for expatriates in 2017, according to Mercer:

1- Luanda (Angola)

2- Victoria (Seychelles)

3- Ndjamena (Chad)

4- Kinshasa (DR Congo)

5- Lagos (Nigeria)

6- Libreville (Gabon)

7- Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

8- Djibouti (Djibouti)

9- Accra (Ghana)

10- Abuja (Nigeria)

Fiacre E. Kakpo