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38 cultural outlook

“City rankings according to living costs”

have been announced

The results of the annual Cost of Living Survey conducted by Mercer have been announced.
Ranking 173rd according to the 27th survey this year, Istanbul continues to be an attractive
center for mobile (ex-pat) workers. In the study covering 209 cities on five continents,
Ashgabat is the most expensive city in the world in 2021, while Bishkek is the cheapest city.

Istanbul, which was ranked 156th last year, has become 173rd on the list, decreasing 17
places this year.

Mercer, a leading human resources management consulting firm According to the survey, mobile workforce practices are evolving
serving more than 25 thousand customers in more than 40 coun- into other mobile workforce movements, such as conventional long-
tries around the world, announced the results of the ‘Cost of Living and short-term assignments, such as when the employee returns to
Survey‘ that it conducts every year. Ashgabat topped the list as the their original place of residence after a few years abroad, inter-
most expensive city, while Hong Kong, which had been in the first national recruitment of foreign employees, employees permanently
place for many years, fell to 2nd place. Beirut, on the other hand, is transferred to the mission, employees who travel long distances for
listed as the third most expensive city, rising 42 levels. The world's work every day, international remote employees and international
cheapest city for international workers is Bishkek, ranked 209th. freelancers.
The ‘Mercer Cost of Living Survey, which guides governments and
multinationals on wages to be paid to employees abroad, was car- According to Mercer's 2020 Worldwide International Assignment
ried out in 209 cities on 5 continents. The Mercer Cost of Living Policies and Practices Survey, many companies offer more flexible
Survey helps employers understand the importance of monitoring options to provide conditions that suit the various personal situa-
currency fluctuations and assessing the inflationary and deflation- tions of their assigned employees. In another Mercer survey con-
ary pressures on goods, services, and accommodation across all ducted in 2020/2021, more than 50 percent of employers surveyed
locations of operation. The data also helps employers identify com- said they expect changes in their company's one-way transfers, tal-
pensation packages for employees in international assignments and ent development, short-term assignments, and assignments of em-
abroad and make them permanent. In addition, the cost of living of ployees who travel long distances for work due to the pandemic.
a place can have a significant impact on its appeal as a destination Ilya Bonic, Head of Careers and Head of Strategy at Mercer said
for talent, and it affects the location choice decisions of companies “Cost of living has always been an important factor in international
that expand and transform their geographic footprint. mobile workforce planning; but the pandemic has brought a new
dimension to the complexity of the process, with long-term impli-