Mercer, among the world’s best financial services consulting companies, recently published its annual ‘Cost of Living Rankings of Cities for 2024’ and Doha has the second lowest cost of living ranking among all Gulf cities.

Doha was placed 121st among 226 cities from across five continents. Meanwhile, Dubai, ranked 15th overall in the world, is the most expensive city among Arab nations.   

While Djibouti (18th) was the second most expensive city to live in the region, Abu Dhabi, UAE (43rd) came in third. Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh (90) and Jeddah (97) were in fourth and fifth places, while Amman, Jordan (108), Manama, Bahrain (110), Kuwait City (119), Doha, Qatar (121), and Muscat, Oman (122) finished next.

Nawakchout, Mauritania (186), Algiers, Algeria (194), and Tunis, Tunisia (210) emerged as the least expensive Arab cities to live in.

This year’s ranking methodology assessed 226 cities from five continents. It analysed the comparative costs of over 200 items in each location — from housing and transportation to food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

To ensure consistency in city-ranking comparisons, New York City was utilized as the base city and currency movements were measured against the US dollar. 

The figures utilized in the cost comparisons stem from a survey conducted in March 2024, encompassing over 400 cities. Exchange rates from that time, coupled with data from Mercer’s international basket of goods and services, were employed for calculations and baselines.

COST OF LIVING RANKINGS OF CITIES 2024

15 – Dubai, UAE

18 – Djibouti, Djibouti

43 – Abu Dhabi, UAE

90 – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

97 – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

108 – Amman, Jordan

110 – Manama, Bahrain

119 – Kuwait City, Kuwait

121 – Doha, Qatar

122 – Muscat, Oman

153 – Casablanca, Morocco

168 – Cairo, Egypt

173 – Rabat, Morocco

186 – Nawakchout, Mauritania

194 – Algiers, Algeria

210 – Tunis, Tunisia

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