Calgary's cost of living drops relative to the rest of the world's major cities

Calgary's cost of living is falling relative to the rest of the world's major cities, making it more attractive as a destination for international workers, according to the latest rankings from Mercer.

The international human resources firm pegged Calgary at 162nd on a list of 209 cities across the globe, down 16 spots from the year before.

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Vancouver was the most expensive Canadian city on the list, coming in at 142nd, followed by Toronto in 143rd place.

Montreal ranked 155thand Ottawa 171st.

No other Canadian cities were evaluated.

Mercer said the choice ofcities it surveys"is based on the demand for data."

"Governments and major companies use data from this survey to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad; rental accommodation costs data is used to assess local expatriate housing allowances," the company said in a release.

Weak looniepushes all Canadian cities down the list

All Canadian cities ranked lower on the list this year than in 2015, due to the falling value of the Canadian dollar.

That makes Canadian cities more compelling as a destination for expatriates coming to work in Canada from organizations outside the country, according to Gordon Frost with Mercer Canada.

"However, the depressed dollar provides a challenge to Canadian organizations looking to place employees in cities around the world," he said in a release.

The survey looks at the cost of rent in cities and a variety of common things people would spend money on, including movie tickets, blue jeans, coffee, fast food, gasoline, milk, bread, beerand mineral water.

The most expensive cities on the list were:

1. Hong Kong
2. Luanda, Angola
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Singapore
5. Tokyo, Japan
6. Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of Congo
7. Shanghai, China
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Ndjamena, Chad
10. Beijing, China

The least expensive city on the list was Windhoek, Namibia.

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