Turkmenistan’s capital of becomes the world’s most expensive city for expats (Photo: GETTY IMAGES)

According to Mercer's 2021 Cost of Living Survey, Ashgabat has risen from second place in last year's survey to first place because of its high inflation rate. Turkmenistan is almost entirely dependent on natural gas exports and is struggling to recover from the fall in global energy prices in 2014, which caused the local currency Manat to plummet and push many people into poverty.

In the survey, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) was pushed down from last year’s first place to second place, the Lebanese capital Beirut from 45th place last year to third place. Switzerland has three cities in the top 10 most expensive cities in the world, including Zurich (5th), Geneva (8th) and Bern (10th).