In the latest ranking, Beijing, China has moved up to the position of 20th most expensive city from 48th in the 2011 study, outranking Paris, France, which moved down 13 places on the global scale, from 21st to 34th. 

Japan occupies four places in the top 10, while Oslo, in second place, is Europe's most expensive city. Another Norwegian city is ranked fifth most expensive in the world, while three of Switzerland's main cities hold top-10 positions.

Regarding Europe, "[a]lmost all locations across the continent have fallen in the ranking year-on-year, largely as a result of the Euro and other European currencies falling against the US dollar and other major currencies between surveys," the study's authors outline.

Australia maintained three cities in the top 20 (Sydney - 16, Canberra - 17, Adelaide - 18) with another four in the top 25 (Melbourne - 21, Perth - 23, Brisbane -24, and Darwin - 24), while in North America, Ottawa (39) has overtaken Vancouver (now in 41st) as the continent's most pricey city with New York in 40th.

The ECA ranking is based on a basket of goods and services used by the expatriate employee on a daily basis. The study compares prices in more than 400 locations around the world.

The 10 most expensive cities for expatriate employees 

1 Tokyo - Japan
2 Oslo - Norway
3 Nagoya - Japan
4 Luanda - Angola
5 Stavanger - Norway
6 Yokohama - Japan
7 Geneva - Switzerland
8 Kobe - Japan
9 Zürich - Switzerland
10 Bern - Switzerland