New data compiled by expat pricing database Expatistan reveals which South African cities have the highest cost of living in the country.<\/p>\n
The index’s values are determined by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city – which is Prague for Expatistan – and then pricing\u00a0other cities in the database, comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.<\/p>\n
In other words, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.<\/p>\n
The index covers 21 South African cities – six of which come in above the index standard, and the rest coming in below.<\/p>\n
| #<\/th>\n | City<\/th>\n | Index score<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|---|
| 1<\/td>\n | Richards Bay<\/td>\n | 119<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 2<\/td>\n | Bhisho<\/td>\n | 115<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 3<\/td>\n | Pietermaritzburg<\/td>\n | 111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 4<\/td>\n | Rustenburg<\/td>\n | 109<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 5<\/td>\n | Johannesburg<\/td>\n | 107<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 6<\/td>\n | Witbank<\/td>\n | 101<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 7<\/td>\n | Queenstown<\/td>\n | 97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 8<\/td>\n | Cape Town<\/td>\n | 93<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 9<\/td>\n | Port Elizabeth<\/td>\n | 90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 10<\/td>\n | Pretoria<\/td>\n | 87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 11<\/td>\n | Vereeniging<\/td>\n | 87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 12<\/td>\n | Welkom<\/td>\n | 86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 13<\/td>\n | Nelspruit<\/td>\n | 85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 14<\/td>\n | Durban<\/td>\n | 84<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 15<\/td>\n | Potchefstroom<\/td>\n | 82<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 16<\/td>\n | George<\/td>\n | 80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 17<\/td>\n | Soweto<\/td>\n | 78<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 18<\/td>\n | Bloemfontein<\/td>\n | 76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 19<\/td>\n | Tembisa<\/td>\n | 74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 20<\/td>\n | Newcastle<\/td>\n | 74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 21<\/td>\n | Worcester<\/td>\n | 74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n The data is meant to provide a guideline for expats moving to different cities across the world, and therefore does not take purchasing power parity into account.<\/p>\n This caveat makes it difficult to use the data to compare cost of living across different international cities.<\/p>\n However, in the global ranking, South Africa’s major metros – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban – are all ranked among the least\u00a0expensive cities in the world.<\/p>\n Joburg is ranked 192nd most expensive out of 268 cities listed, followed by Cape Town (222), Pretoria (234) and Durban (240).<\/p>\n Zurich, Switzerland was ranked as the most expensive city in the world with an index score of 286, with\u00a0Chi\u015fin\u0103u, Moldova ranked as the cheapest, with an index score of 53.<\/p>\n More on cost of living<\/h3>\nCost of living: South African cities vs the world<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This is what R100 buys you around the world<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n What South Africans think about the economy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n |