World's costliest city for foreign workers is Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat

The presidential palace in Ashgabat. A recent survey showed that the Turkmenistan capital is the most expensive city for expatriates. Photo: AFP

Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat has overtaken Hong Kong as the world's most expensive city for foreign workers, a survey showed on June 22.

Beirut jumped to third place in the 2021 Mercer survey from 45th a year earlier owing to a "severe and extensive economic depression" resulting from multiple crises, including the country's financial trouble, Covid-19 and a deadly blast in the Lebanese port.