Montevideo consolidates itself among the most expensive cities in the world, according to the update of the Mercer ranking, which measures the cost of living in 226 cities by comparing more than 200 items in each location. Uruguay, Meanwhile, it is the country where it is most needed to cover the basic costs of living in Latin America.
The Uruguayan capital continues to be well positioned in world rankings, although this is not always good news: in the Cost of Living Rankings 2024, prepared by the consulting firm Mercer, was ranked 42nd, rising 12 places from the previous edition. This makes Montevideo be among the 50 cities in the world in which it is most expensive to live.
The truth is that the trend has been consolidating over the years, and it is increasingly possible to find the port city higher in the ranking: in 2022 it was in 69th place, while in 2023, it was placed in 54th place, “improving” 15 positions; and now it has risen another 12, surpassing cities like Buenos Aires (Argentina), São Paulo (Brazil), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Tokyo (Japan) and Oslo (Norway).
Likewise, and as in past deliveries, Montevideo was observed as the most expensive city for foreign employees between the countries of South America. Something fundamental if you consider that Uruguay seeks to consolidate itself as a technological hub by attracting talent from other countries.
What was the general panorama in the world and in the region?
Mercer’s ranking was topped by the same five cities as last year: Hong Kong, Singapore, Zurich, Geneva and Basel —the last three of Swiss. Points 6 and 7, meanwhile, were exchanged between Bern (Switzerland) and New York, USA).
For its part, London, United Kingdom) it climbed 9 positions to be in eighth place on the list; and Nassau (Bahamas) and The Angels (United States), each rose one place to close the last two places in the top 10 of the ranking.
Regarding Latin America and the Caribbean, Nassau was ranked as the most expensive city in the region, in position 9. It is followed by Mexico City (33); San Jose Costa Rica (36); Montevideo (42); San Juan Puerto Rico (48); Buenos Aires (77), Kingston, Jamaica (99); Port Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (114); Monterey, Mexico (115); and São Paulo (124).
On the other hand, according to a Statista report, Uruguay It is also the country in the region where it is most expensive to cover the basic living costs: $887 is needed, not counting rental costs.
Among the cheapest countries are Paraguay ($446), Argentina ($469), Bolivia ($481), Peru ($495) and Colombia ($527). While among the most expensive are Chile (703 dollars), Mexico (706 dollars), Panama ($779), Costa Rica ($865), and closes Uruguay.
