Kigali, Rwanda's capital is the second least expensive city in East Africa for expats to live in according to a newly released Mercer 2020 Cost of Living Survey.

Kampala is the least expensive city in the region.

In comparison with last year's report, the fast-growing metropolis dropped one spot to the 176th position globally.

To determine the cost of living, Mercer's index looks at the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, utilities, and entertainment.

The survey is one of the most recognized of its kind and the 2020 report highlights results for 209 cities across five continents. Surveyed cities, according to the study designers, are selected based on demand for data by various organisations that deploy workforce overseas.

Based on data collected in March, the study reveals that the majority of African cities climbed up the list, bringing about more expensive lives for expatriates. The Ugandan capital, for instance, has risen six positions from 2019 rankings.

In the east African region, Nairobi comes in at the top and 95th worldwide. The Kenyan capital is followed by Tanzania’s commercial hub Dar es Salaam.

Victoria, the capital of Seychelles takes the top spot in Africa and 14th globally, beating Chad’s capital N'djamena. The central African city was leading last year, ranking 11th.

Tunisia's capital, Tunis is still the least expensive city in Africa and globally, followed by Windhoek in Namibia.

This year's rankings were greatly influenced by sudden changes to exchange rates driven by the impact of COVID-19.

The survey shows that costs of goods and services shift with inflation, currency volatility and instability of accommodation prices.

"This volatility can affect mobile employees in a variety of ways, from shortages and price adjustments for goods and services, to supply chain disruptions or when employees are paid in home country currency and need to exchange currency into the host country for local purchases," said Yvonne Traber, Global Mobility Product Solutions Leader at Mercer in a statement.

Globally, Hong Kong retained its spot as the costliest city. This global financial center is followed by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Tokyo and Zurich remain in third and fourth positions, respectively, whereas Singapore is in fifth.

Ranking sixth, New York City is the only American city appearing in the top 10 while Shanghai (China), Bern and Geneva (Switzerland), and Beijing (China) follow in that order.