Angolan capital remains 'most expensive city' for expats

The Angolan capital, Luanda, remains the world's most expensive city for expatriates, according to an annual survey by consultancy Mercer.

The city has held the number one spot for the past three years because of the high cost of rent, imported goods and security in the oil-rich nation.

However, the rest of the cost of living rankings saw significant shifts due to exchange rate fluctuations.

Asian cities now account for half of the top 10 costliest destinations.

Hong Kong rose to second place and Singapore remained in fourth because of their expensive property and rental markets.

Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul also made the top 10.

Here are the top 10 most expensive cities in 2015:

1. Luanda, Angola
2. Hong Kong
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Singapore
5. Geneva, Switzerland
6. Shanghai, China
7. Beijing, China
8. Seoul, South Korea
9. Bern, Switzerland
10. N, Djamena, Chad

Chinese cities now account for nine of the top 30 most expensive cities because of the growing strength of the renminbi.

Tokyo fell out of the top ten for the first time after the yen weakened against the US dollar because of Japan's stimulus program.

It used to top the rankings, but is now in 11th place, down from seventh last year.

N'Djamena, the largest city in Chad, also used to rank consistently highly, but dropped from second to 10th place.