Tokyo becomes the most expensive city for foreigners in the world.

Tokyo has replaced Moscow as the world's most expensive city for expatriates, and Beijing has moved into the top 10, according to a global survey released Tuesday by consultants¹ Mercer.

Asian and European cities again dominated the top ranks of the world's costliest² cities for foreigners, but currency swings including a stronger dollar have reshuffled the global rankings, the firm said.

Cities in the United States, China and the Middle East surged from last year. New York jumped from 22nd to eight place, Beijing is now ninth, up from 20th, while Dubai has climbed 32 places to number 20.

London dropped 13 places from last year to be the 16th most expensive city in the world, while Paris slipped one spot to 13th, according to Mercer's annual Cost of Living survey of 143 cities.

"As a direct impact of the economic downturn over the last year we have observed significant fluctuations³ in most of the world's currencies, which have had a profound impact on this year's ranking," said Nathalie Constantin-Metral, senior researcher at the consulting and investment services company.

"Many currencies, including the euro and British pound, have weakened considerably⁴ against a strong US dollar, causing a number of European cities to plummet⁵ in the rankings," she said in a statement.

The survey uses New York as the base city with an index of 100 points when comparing the cost of 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

Tokyo scores 143.7 points and is nearly three times as costly⁶ as the cheapest city, Johannesburg, which has an index score of 49.6.

Osaka was in second place - making Japan the only country with two cities in the top 10 - followed by Moscow in third, Geneva at four and Hong Kong fifth.

Due to the strengthening dollar, all US cities became more expensive. Los Angeles gained 32 places to 23rd and Washington is up 41 places to 66th.

Most European cities became cheaper for expats, with Warsaw experiencing the most dramatic change, plummeting⁷ from 35th to 113th place.

Chinese cities gained as the yuan strengthened somewhat against most other currencies, said Mercer. Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou moved up to 12th, 22nd and 23rd respectively.

根据美世咨询公司周二发布的一项全球调查结果，东京已经取代莫斯科成为全世界外籍人士生活成本最高的城市，北京也进入前十名。

亚洲和欧洲城市再次成为世界上外国人生活花费最高的地方，但是美世咨询公司说，由于货币汇率波动，美元趋于强势，已将这一排行重新洗牌。

美国、中国和中东城市的花费自去年起就开始攀升。纽约从第22名升到第8名，北京从第20名上升至第9名，迪拜排名上升了32位，现居第20名。

美世公司对143个城市的年度生活花费调查显示，伦敦在最“贵”的城市里排名第16，比去年下降了13个名次，而巴黎则下滑了一个名次成为第13名。

“由于受去年经济衰退的直接影响，我们可以觉察到世界上大多数货币都经历了大幅度的波动，这极大地影响了今年的排名，”咨询和投资服务公司的资深研究员纳萨莉·康斯坦丁-梅特拉尔说。

她在一份陈述中说，“许多货币，包括欧元和英镑，相对强势美元都呈明显疲势，这使得不少欧洲城市的排名骤降。”

该调查选择纽约作为基点城市，以100点作为指数，一共比较了200个项目，包括住房、交通、食物、服装、家居用品和娱乐支出。

在这一调查结果中，东京高达143.7点，相当于花费最便宜的城市约翰内斯堡的近三倍，约翰内斯堡仅为46.9点。

大阪排名第二，这使日本成了唯一一个在前十名拥有两席的国家。紧随其后排第三位的城市是莫斯科，日内瓦和香港分列第四和第五位。

由于美元的强劲势头，美国所有城市的花费都变得昂贵起来。洛杉矶上升了32个名次，占据第23位，而华盛顿则上升了41个名次，排第66位。

欧洲的大多数城市消费对于外籍人士变得便宜了，其中以华沙的变动最为剧烈，从第35位直落到第113位。

美世公司说，因为人民币相对大多数其他货币处于强势，中国城市的名次也有所上升，上海、深圳和广州分别升至第12、22和23位。

Vocabulary:

expat: short for "expatriate" （外籍移民）