Atlas Magazine invites you to discover the cheapest cities in the world in 2021. They are divided by continent or region: Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
Based on the latest survey of the human resources consulting firm "Mercer", the ranking examines the cost of living for an expatriate by taking into consideration a variety of data such as transportation, housing, and the price of food products.
Africa: the cheapest cities in 2021
| Global ranking | Regional ranking | City | Country |
|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|
| 201 | 208 | 1 | Lusaka | Zambia |
| 209 | 206 | 2 | Tunis | Tunisia |
| 208 | 204 | 3 | Windhoek | Namibia |
| 199 | 202 | 4 | Gaborone | Botswana |
| 204 | 200 | 5 | Banjul | Gambia |
| 194 | 198 | 6 | Algiers | Algeria |
| 182 | 194 | 7 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia |
| 185 | 190 | 8 | Blantyre | Malawi |
| 192 | 184 | 9 | Johannesburg | South Africa |
| 173 | 182 | 10 | Port Louis | Mauritius |
| 161 | 179 | 11 | Maputo | Mozambique |
| 187 | 178 | 12 | Cape Town | South Africa |
| 184 | 176 | 13 | Nouakchot | Mauritania |
| 176 | 175 | 14 | Kigali | Rwanda |
| 177 | 171 | 15 | Kampala | Uganda |
| 163 | 167 | 16 | Dar Es Salaam | Tanzania |
| 14 | 159 | 17 | Victoria | Seychelles |
| 159 | 152 | 18 | Rabat | Morocco |
| 95 | 145 | 19 | Nairobi | Kenya |
| 162 | 145 | 20 | Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso |
Middle East: the cheapest cities in 2021
| Global ranking | Regional ranking | City | Country |
|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|
| 156 | 173 | 1 | Istanbul | Turkey |
| 109 | 130 | 2 | Doha | Qatar |
| 113 | 115 | 3 | Kuwait City | Kuwait |
| 96 | 108 | 4 | Muscat | Oman |
| 104 | 94 | 5 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia |
Europe: the cheapest cities in 2021
| Global ranking | Regional ranking | City | Country |
|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|
| 203 | 207 | 1 | Tbilisi | Georgia |
| 194 | 197 | 2 | Minsk | Belarus |
| 202 | 192 | 3 | Skopje | North Macedonia |
| 197 | 186 | 4 | Sarajevo | Bosnia-Herzegovina |
| 180 | 165 | 5 | Sofia | Bulgaria |
| 169 | 164 | 6 | Warsaw | Poland |
| 183 | 163 | 7 | Belgrade | Serbia |
| 170 | 162 | 8 | Budapest | Hungary |
| 174 | 160 | 9 | Bucharest | Romania |
| 166 | 156 | 10 | Limassol | Cyprus |
| 163 | 152 | 11 | Tirana | Albania |
| 106 | 149 | 12 | Kiev | Ukraine |
| 149 | 148 | 13 | Belfast | United Kingdom |
| 157 | 143 | 14 | Vilnius | Lithuania |
| 152 | 140 | 15 | Zagreb | Croatia |
| 158 | 138 | 16 | Leipzig | Germany |
| 155 | 134 | 17 | Nuremberg | Germany |
| 146 | 132 | 18 | Tallinn | Estonia |
| 141 | 131 | 19 | Glasgow | United Kingdom |
| 134 | 128 | 20 | Aberdeen | United Kingdom |
Asia: the cheapest cities in 2021
| Global ranking | Regional ranking | City | Country |
|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|
| 206 | 209 | 1 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan |
| 206 | 203 | 2 | Tashkent | Uzbekistan |
| 205 | 201 | 3 | Karachi | Pakistan |
| 200 | 199 | 4 | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 191 | 195 | 5 | Yerevan | Armenia |
| 189 | 193 | 6 | Almaty | Kazakhstan |
| 177 | 185 | 7 | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 185 | 181 | 8 | Kolkata | India |
| 172 | 172 | 9 | Baku | Azerbaijan |
| 171 | 170 | 10 | Bengaluru | India |
| 143 | 158 | 11 | Chennai | India |
| 144 | 152 | 12 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia |
| 111 | 143 | 13 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam |
| 116 | 139 | 14 | Hanoi | Vietnam |
| 109 | 125 | 15 | Phnom Penh | Cambodia |
| 118 | 122 | 16 | Bandar Seri Begawan | Brunei |
| 101 | 117 | 17 | New Delhi | India |
| 86 | 104 | 18 | Jakarta | Indonesia |
| 83 | 104 | 19 | Yangon | Myanmar |
| 80 | 78 | 20 | Manila | Philippines |
Americas*: the cheapest cities in 2021
| Global ranking | Regional ranking | City | Country |
|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|
| 190 | 205 | 1 | Brasilia | Brazil |
| 198 | 196 | 2 | Managua | Nicaragua |
| 160 | 191 | 3 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil |
| 193 | 189 | 4 | La Paz | Bolivia |
| 196 | 188 | 5 | Tegucigalpa | Honduras |
| 188 | 187 | 6 | Asuncion | Paraguay |
| 177 | 183 | 7 | Monterrey | Mexico |
| 181 | 180 | 8 | Bogota | Colombia |
| 130 | 177 | 9 | Sao Paulo | Brazil |
| 167 | 173 | 10 | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic |
| 168 | 169 | 11 | San Salvador | El Salvador |
| 153 | 168 | 12 | Buenos Aires | Argentina |
| 150 | 165 | 13 | Kingston | Jamaica |
| 145 | 161 | 14 | Quito | Ecuador |
| 151 | 156 | 15 | Ottawa | Canada |
| 120 | 152 | 16 | Mexico City | Mexico |
| 132 | 151 | 17 | Winston Salem | United States |
| 112 | 150 | 18 | Lima | Peru |
| 146 | 145 | 19 | Calgary | Canada |
| 122 | 141 | 20 | Guatemala City | Guatemala |
*North America, South and Central America
Oceania: the cheapest cities in 2021
| Global ranking | Regional ranking | City | Country |
|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|
| 123 | 94 | 1 | Wellington | New Zealand |
| 126 | 88 | 2 | Adelaide | Australia |
| 126 | 81 | 3 | Brisbane | Australia |
| 118 | 75 | 4 | Canberra | Australia |
| 103 | 70 | 5 | Auckland | New Zealand |
