The survey, conducted by market research company Mercer LLC, ranked 214 cities across five countries and measured the comparative cost of 200 items including transport, food, clothing, housing and entertainment. The data is meant for expatriates, those living in a country they were not born in.
Ottawa ranked 115 on the list, down one position from its ranking of 114 last year. It remained well behind Toronto (61), which is the most expensive city in Canada, followed closely by Vancouver (63), Montreal (87) and Calgary (92). Only these five Canadian cities were included in the survey.
Tokyo was declared the most expensive city to live in for expatriates.
"Deploying expatriate employees is becoming an increasingly important aspect of multinational companies' business strategy, including expansion," stated Nathalie Constantin-Métral, the principal at Mercer responsible for compiling the rankings. "But with volatile markets and stunted economic growth in many parts of the world, a keen eye on cost efficiency is essential."
All cities were compared with New York, N.Y., the survey's benchmark city.
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