In Mercer's 28th global ranking of the most expensive cities, Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, is ranked just ahead of Libreville (Gabon) and Victoria (Seychelles). In West Africa, the three most expensive cities are Lagos, Dakar, and Abidjan.

U.S asset management firm Mercer recently published the 2022 issue of its global ranking of the most expensive cities; 209 cities are ranked in the report, including 44 African cities.  

According to the ranking, Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, is now the most expensive city in Africa. It is ranked 23rd in the world, followed by Libreville, the capital of Gabon (24th in the world), and Victoria, the capital of Seychelles (38th in the world).

The ranking is based on data collected in March 2022. It comes against the backdrop of global inflation, which pushed commodity prices up on the international market, resulting in higher living and housing costs in several African countries. 

In the Central African Republic, which is also experiencing security challenges, the African Development Bank (AfDB) reports, for example, that inflation has exceeded 4% in 2021. It is expected to remain at that level this year. Although its inflation is low compared to countries like Nigeria, Kenya, or Ghana, it is above the 3 percent community threshold in the CEMAC region.  

Apart from the three cities mentioned above, the ten most expensive African cities are completed by Djibouti (41st in the world), Kinshasa (53rd), Lagos (55th), Luanda (64th), Dakar (65th in the world), Abidjan (68th in the world), and Brazzaville (74th in the world). 

The ranking takes into account several criteria including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment. It provides expatriates an idea of the standard of living in the cities ranked.  The comparison benchmark is New York City and currency movements are measured in the US dollar.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou