Photographs: Markus Leupold-Lowenthal/Wikimedia Commons.
Economic and political upheavals have affected the city rankings due to currency fluctuations, inflation, and volatility in accommodation prices, says Mercer.
A Mercer survey rates 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
When compared to New York, Mercer's benchmark city, most European cities have witnessed a decline in cost of living.
Take a look at the world's 20 most expensive cities for expatriates...
Tokyo (Japan)
While Tokyo is the world's most expensive city for expatriates, Karachi ranked at 214 is the world's least expensive city for expatriates.
In Asia, Singapore (6), Hong Kong (9) and three Japanese cities Tokyo (1), Osaka (3) and Nagoya (10, are ranked in top 10 most expensive cities for expats.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Paulo Cesar Santos/Wikimedia Commons.
Luanda (Angola)
Luanda, formerly named Sao Paulo da Assuncao de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola.
Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative centre.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: PekePON/Wikimedia Commons.
Osaka (Japan)
Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu. Osaka is the third largest city by population after Tokyo and Yokohama.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Christophe Meneboeuf/Wikimedia Commons.
Moscow (Russia)
Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific centre in Russia. The largest city in Russia, Moscow also has a large population of billionaires in the world.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Norbert Aepli/Wikimedia Commons.
Geneva (Switzerland)
Geneva is a global city, a financial centre, and worldwide centre for diplomacy. It was ranked as the world's thirteenth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index.
The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and the 'Peace Capital'.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: MadGeographer/Wikimedia Commons.
Zurich (Switzerland)
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. Zurich is a mixed hub for railways, roads, and air traffic.
Zurich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres. The city is home to a large number of financial institutions and banking giants.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Chensiyuan/Wikimedia Commons.
Singapore (Singapore)
The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country. The World Bank ranks Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business.
The country has the world's third highest GDP PPP per capita of $59,936, making Singapore one of the world's wealthiest countries.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Notrchad/Wikimedia Commons.
N'djamena (Chad)
N'Djamena is the capital and largest city in Chad.
The city was founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander Emile Gentil on May 29, 1900. It was a major trading city and became the capital of the country.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Chensiyuan/Wikimedia Commons.
Hong Kong city (Hong Kong)
One of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade.
Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita income in the world. Hong Kong ranks high on economic freedom, financial and economic competitiveness and quality of life.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Hr/Wikimedia Commons.
Nagoya (Japan)
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chubu region of Japan. Located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and one of Japan's major ports.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Diliff/Wikimedia Commons.
Sydney (Australia)
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. As the financial hub of Australia, Sydney has grown to become a prosperous city.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Lukaaz/Wikimedia Commons.
Sao Paulo (Brazil)
Sao Paulo is the largest city in the southern hemisphere and Americas, and the world's seventh largest city by population.
The city has a strong international influence and is considered an Alpha-World City.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Rodrigo Soldon/Wikimedia Commons.
Rio De Janeiro (Brazil)
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America.
The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during the Portuguese colonial era.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Daniel Schwen/Wikimedia Commons.
Bern (Switzerland)
Bern is the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. In 1983, the historic old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bern is ranked among the world's top ten cities for the best quality of life (2010).
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Mary Myla Andamon/ Wikimedia Commons.
Melbourne (Australia)
Melbourne was ranked as the world's most liveable city in the World's Most Livable Cities ratings by the Economist Group's Intelligence Unit in August 2011.
It was also ranked in the top ten Global University Cities by RMIT's Global University Cities Index (since 2006). The metropolis is also home to the world's largest tram network.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Agnieszka Bojczuk/ Wikimedia Commons.
Shanghai (China)
A 'showpiece' of the booming economy of mainland China, Shanghai is the most populated city.
It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial centre and the busiest container port in the world.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: CobbleCC/Wikimedia Commons.
Beijing (China)
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center. It is also home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies.
It is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Leif-Harald Ruud/Wikimedia Commons.
Oslo (Norway)
Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping.
Oslo is considered a global city and ranked as a 'Beta World City'.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Nachoman-au/Wikimedia Commons.
Perth (Australia)
Perth is the capital and largest city in Western Australia. Perth was ranked eighth in The Economist's 2011 list of the world's most livable cities.
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World's 20 most expensive cities
Photographs: Global Photographer/Wikimedia Commons.
Libreville (Gabon)
Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in west central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a timber trade centre.
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