Masdar City > Comparative Living Costs

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is moderate and, although it had increased in light of the strong economic growth and influx of expatriate residents, the global crisis has reduced costs, particularly in housing. The Mercer 2010 Cost of Living survey ranks Abu Dhabi more affordable than cities such as Barcelona, Dublin, Istanbul, Melbourne and Shenzhen.

The following table, from the Economist Intelligence Unit (2010), provides a more detailed review of comparable expenses.

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin	Hong Kong	New York	Oslo	Paris	Singapore
Utilities
Telephone line, monthly rental (average)	4.09	23.01	14.16	35	25.94	19.23	7.32
Electricity, monthly bill for family of four (high)	544.96	104.28	257.4	300	269.17	512.82	602.2
Domestic Help
Hourly rate, domestic cleaning help (average)	4.9	23.72	12.87	45	34.67	28.21	8.13
Transport car prices
Low priced car (900-1299 cc) (low)	10354.22	12679.49	20918.92	17100	31631.32	20256.41	50364.18
Compact car (1300-1799 cc) (low)	14986.38	22179.49	22899.61	16909	36280.59	35256.41	60438.81
Deluxe car (2500 cc upwards) (low)	48773.84	90769.23	110424.71	71598	187373.57	126538.46	300597.01
Yearly road tax or registration fee (low)	81.74	355.13	505.66	80	n/a	n/a	553.73
Annual premium for car insurance (low)	1089.92	2020.97	1930.5	2000	2644.05	705.13	2201.49
Regular unleaded petrol (1 l) (low)	0.37	1.74	1.97	0.73	2	1.67	1.29
Taxi: initial meter charge (average)	0.95	4.1	2.32	2.5	7.5	3.33	2.24
Taxi rate per additional kilometre (average)	0.38	2.12	0.97	0.7	2.61	1.67	0.39
Taxi: airport to city centre (average	19.07	48.46	46.33	50	112.56	76.92	23.88
Residential Rate
Furnished residential apartment: 1 bedroom (moderate)	1498.64	1410.26	2316.6	3000	1370.31	2243.59	2611.94
Furnished residential apartment: 2 bedrooms (moderate)	2452.32	1794.87	4118.4	4500	2039.15	3205.13	3134.33
Unfurnished residential apartment: 2 bedrooms (moderate	3405.99	1551.28	4247.1	4000	1794.45	3589.74	2723.88
Unfurnished residential apartment: 3 bedrooms (moderate)	4223.43	1625.64	7464.61	5300	2202.28	4615.38	3432.84
Furnished residential house: 3 bedrooms (moderate)	n/a	1666.67	n/a	5500	n/a	4871.79	4253.73
Unfurnished residential house: 3 bedrooms (moderate)	6539.51	2397.44	n/a	4000	2446.98	4487.18	5074.63
International schools, health and sports
French school: kindergarten annual fees (high)	4098.09	5358.97	9693.56	18560	4181.08	n/a	11791.04
French school: annual tuition, ages 5-12 (high)	5585.83	5358.97	10082.75	18330	4203.59	n/a	12238.81
French school: annual tuition, ages 13-17 (high)	7275.2	5358.97	16242.86	22450	5119.41	n/a	17164.18
American/English school: kindergarten annual fees (high)	8497.28	8707.69	21492.92	24350	11337.68	30769.23	13358.21
American/English school: annual tuition, ages 5-12 (high)	11019.07	15130.77	19562.42	25250	27406.2	35256.41	18955.22
American/English school: annual tuition, ages 13-17 (high)	14795.64	17700	22406.69	27100	27406.2	38076.92	19962.69
Business trip costs
Hilton-type hotel, single room, one night including breakfast (average)	265.67	235.9	523.81	495	325.45	487.18	354.48
Simple meal for one person (high)	58.58	85.9	97.68	60	81.57	57.69	59.7
Hire car, weekly rate(moderate)	381.47	487.99	566.28	576.41	883.85	576.92	1156.73

* Source: Economist Intelligence Unit 2010.

Comparative Living Costs

Utilities

Domestic Help

Transport car prices

Residential Rate

International schools, health and sports

Business trip costs