Muscat still one of the cheapest cities for expats in Middle East

Muscat: Though the cost of living is rising in Muscat, it is still one of the cheapest cities for expatriates to live in the Middle East, according to a survey carried out by the Mercer consultancy firm.
Global rankings placed Muscat at the 94th position in the world in 2016, a fall from 117 in 2015.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Dubai was placed at the 21st position in the global rankings of the costliest cities, followed by Abu Dhabi at the 25th position, the report said.
Abu Dhabi was followed by Riyadh at 57th, Manama, Bahrain at 71st, Doha at 76th, Kuwait City is 103rd and lastly Jeddah, which was ranked 121st.
Globally, Hong Kong emerged as the most expensive city for expatriates followed by Luanda in Angola, Zurich in Switzerland, Singapore and Tokyo in Japan.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, Rob Thissen, talent mobility consultant at Mercer Middle East, said: “The main reason Muscat has moved up the rankings is the peg of the rial with the US dollar. Over the last 12 months the dollar has been strong, particularly compared with a lot of emerging market currencies, as well as for instance the GBP and CNY (China). Hence, compared with a lot of other currencies, a basket of goods in Omani rials has become more expensive, compared with last year. Inflation on the other hand is low in Oman; this has not contributed to the higher ranking.”
The ranking compares day-to-day expenditure on goods and services, such as food, clothing and transportation, as well as rental prices. “For instance, the cost of living on day-to-day expenditure items, such as food, may be cheaper in Riyadh than in Muscat, but expatriate rental costs are much higher in Riyadh, pushing the city above Muscat in the rankings,” he added.
Commenting on the report, S Basu, an Indian expat living in the Sultanate, said the report proves that Oman is still one of the least expensive countries to live in throughout the world. “From housing rent to groceries to schooling, everything is cheap here, compared with other major cities in the world,” she added.
Hassan Al Mahrouqui, a resident of Oman, pointed out that rural areas in Muscat are much cheaper than those in other GCC countries. “That is one of the reasons more and more (people) are coming to Muscat,” he said.
According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information, there are 1,997,408 expatriates living in Oman, compared with 2,425,058 Omanis.
The survey’s findings were based on data collected during the 12 months ended March 2016.