(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The UAE has become a more attractive place for residents on a global scale with the cost of living in the country easing further on the back of more affordable rental prices.
Across the Middle East, a drop in rents is one of the main reasons behind a lower cost of living.
The survey, released on Tuesday, showed Tokyo emerging as the most expensive city in the world for expatriates, displacing Luanda, Angola, which dropped to second place.
Abu Dhabi now ranks at 76, and Dubai at 94, underscoring the cities growing attractiveness for affordability and lower living costs, in the 2012 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, produced by Mercer, a leading global HR consultancy.
In addition to the lower accommodation costs across the UAE, other positive factors making the country less expensive and more attractive to residents include a slower increase in prices of goods and services relative to the base city, New York, as well as the stabilisation of the real estate market. The UAE government has been taking several initiatives to bring prices under control over the past few months. "The result of the survey underscores the effectiveness of such measures in checking price increases," one analyst pointed out.
In the Middle East, Beirut has moved to position 67 as the most expensive city. The UAE cities, nonetheless, are still the most expensive places to live in the GCC, ahead of Riyadh (123), Manama (156), Kuwait City (134), Doha (169), Muscat (179) and Jeddah (186).
Zaid Kamhawi, Mercer's IPS business leader in the Middle East, said: The UAE has seen its cities prove less expensive on a global scale as a result of an infusion of factors. The cost of living study continues to bring these developments to light, and allows companies to accurately determine allowances and remain competitive when attracting and retaining the best staff, while giving authorities the opportunity to adapt economic strategies accordingly."
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