International development professionals looking to work abroad and expatriates about to be reassigned: take note. Among the 50 most expensive cities for expats to live in, 13 are from developing countries — 10 of which are from Africa — as listed in the most recent findings of ECA International, a firm that provides employers worldwide with global staffing information and other human resource-related advice.
ECA listed Luanda in Angola, Juba in South Sudan, Brazzaville in Congo and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo among the cities with skyrocketing costs for global professionals. All four countries are nations with low human development rankings on the latest Human Development Index.
There are some notable ECA findings. From ranking 45th last year, Juba is now the fourth most expensive city for expatriates. Analysts associate the huge leap to the country’s high inflation rates — reaching 80 percent during the first 12 months following its break from the north, according to the World Bank.
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