According to the Mercer study 'Cost of living in cities' 2021, Lisbon, the only Portuguese city to enter the 209 places in the ranking, rose 23 positions in the ranking compared to 2020 and has become the 83rd most expensive city for expats.

Regarding the analysis of the 55 European cities in the ranking, Lisbon is in the middle of the table in 24th position.

The study found that Ashgabat is the most expensive city for expats, pushing Hong Kong into second place.

Beirut came in third, up 42 positions in the rankings from last year, as a result of a severe and extensive economic depression, due to several crises - the biggest financial crisis in the country, the covid-19 and the explosion of the Port of Beirut in 2020.

The study indicates that Tokyo and Zurich dropped one place each, from third and fourth positions, respectively, to fourth and fifth positions, and Shanghai was in sixth place, up one, compared to last year. Singapore moved from fifth to seventh place.

Other cities that appear in Mercer's top 10 as the most expensive for expats are Geneva (8), Beijing (9) and Bern (10).

The cheapest cities in the world are Tbilisi, Georgia (207), Lusaka, Zambia (208) and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, ranked as the least expensive city, in 209th place.

The study includes more than 400 cities around the world, reflecting this year's ranking of data from 209 cities on five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and training.