It seems Mercer, the New York City-based consulting firm, took recourse to American exceptionalism when cobbling together its 2011 Cost of Living survey. Angola’s capital, Luanda, 53 percent of whose five million residents live meagrely, was found the world’s most expensive city for expatriates. Tokyo was second, N’Djamena (Chad) third, Moscow fourth and Geneva fifth. In the deluxe 50, NYC stood 32nd, which gives you pause till you realise that Mercer’s yardstick is the US dollar. New Delhi (85) and Mumbai (95) were way cheaper than Luanda; odd, since the exchange rate is 92 kwanza and `44 to a dollar, or kwanza 2.1: `1. The US Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is $33,070.30, compared to $567.12 in Angola, $35,474.10 in Japan, $164.90 in Chad, $1,764.05 in Russia and $36,987.60 in Switzerland (Mercer’s extortionate top five). And yet, reports Mercer, the dollar purchases less in Angola than in Japan and Chad, less in Chad than in Russia, and less in Russia than in Switzerland, when it should actually be purchasing the least in Switzerland, which has a higher GNI than the US. Something smells off.
