Manama, fifth expensive city for expats in Arab world

Manama is the fifth most expensive city in the Arab world to live in for expatriates, according to results of a leading annual survey. The 24th annual global survey by Mercer’s Annual Cost of Living Survey ranked Manama as 77th most expensive city in the world. A number of metropolitan cities in the region were ranked higher than Manama.

Dubai was ranked at 26th making it the most expensive Arab city while Abu Dhabi was ranked 40 and Riyadh stood at 45. Beirut, ranked 65, was also more expensive compared to Manama. Tel Aviv (16) continues to be the most expensive city in the Middle East for expatriates and Cairo (188) remains the least expensive city in the region in the annual survey. “On the whole, most Middle Eastern cities have dropped in the ranking, due to decreases in rental accommodation costs throughout the region,” said Yvonne Traber, Global Mobility Product Solutions Leader at Mercer.

The living expenses for residents of Bahrain, especially expatriates have risen sharply in recent years as the government took austerity measures by removing certain subsidies for expatriates in response to the financial crisis brought on by the drop in oil prices. Most significantly, expatriates in Bahrain have had to shoulder the extra expenses due to the removal of electricity and water subsidies.