Authors: Madhu Manivannan, Caitlin Man, & Sydney Hartstonge
Explaining changes in cost of living indices to your assignees and other stakeholders can be a real challenge, especially when there is economic turbulence at play.
Although inflation has generally continued to stabilise globally, various factors including political instability, natural disasters and conflict continue to disrupt economies across the world.
We’ve highlighted some key movers below, providing explanations of the impact of price changes and exchange rate movements over the six months to September 2025.
Argentina
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation in Argentina continued to slow to 8% in September as fiscal tightening and restrictive monetary policy began to curb price increases. However, in September, Argentine president Javier Milei faced the potential double blow of a local electoral defeat and his implication in a fresh corruption scandal, causing investor confidence in the peso to dissipate. The Argentine peso depreciated 21% against the dollar and 29% against the euro from March to September.
What does this mean for expats? Assignees relocating to Argentina are likely to see indices fall as the currency depreciation severely outpaces the inflation.
Australia
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation across Australia has remained steady, increasing by less than 1% in September. The Australian dollar has strengthened by 3% from March to September against the US dollar, while depreciating by 7% against the euro.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees from the US may see small changes to their indices as movements in the exchange rate will likely outpace inflation, however, assignees from the eurozone will likely see their indices fall as the currency depreciation outweighs inflation.
China
What has impacted the cost of living?
In line with slow domestic demand, deflationary pressures continued in China, with prices dropping by -0.2% in September. From March to September, the Chinese yuan fell against the euro by 8%, but strengthened by 2% against the US dollar.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees from the US may see small rises to their indices as movements in the exchange rate may slightly outpace inflation, however, assignees from the eurozone will likely see their indices fall as the currency depreciation outweighs inflation.
Ethiopia
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation in Ethiopia slowed in September, reaching 6%. Despite aggressive intervention by Ethiopia’s central bank, the Ethiopian birr weakened severely from March to September, falling by 19% against the euro and by 10% against the US dollar.
What does this mean for expats?
Currency movements are likely to outweigh inflation, so most assignees should see their indices fall.
Eurozone
What has impacted the cost of living?
Aided by shifting geopolitical dynamics and the US dollar’s increasing instability, the euro has strengthened significantly in the six months from March to September, rising by 10% against the US dollar. Inflation across the region remained subdued in the same period, with average price increases of less than 1%.
What does this mean for expats?
Currency movements are likely to outpace inflation, so most assignees moving to the Eurozone should see their indices rise.
Ghana
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation in Ghana has significantly slowed to 1% from March to September, reflecting tighter monetary policy and improved macroeconomic stability. Furthermore, as Ghana experiences stronger export revenues, the cedi also appreciated against the dollar by 34% and 22% against the euro in the same period.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees are likely to see their indices rise as currency appreciation heavily outpaces inflation.
Iran
What has impacted the cost of living?
Amid proposals by the Iranian government to redenominate the currency, the rial depreciated 9% against the US dollar and 18% against the euro in September. Inflationary pressures were compounded by rapid currency depreciation, as well as ongoing international sanctions which hit Iran’s petroleum industry particularly hard. Living costs in Iran remained high, with prices rising by 15% in September.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees from the US are likely to see their indices rise as inflation outpaces the movements in the exchange rate, however, assignees from the eurozone will likely see their indices fall as the currency depreciation outweighs inflation.
Japan
What has impacted the cost of living?
The Bank of Japan’s continued cautious approach has continued to create downward pressure on the yen, which depreciated by 9% against the euro but only marginally against the US dollar in September. Prices rose by 0.3% from September to March.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees from the US may see small changes to their indices, but assignees from the eurozone will likely see their indices fall as currency depreciation offsets inflation.
Malawi
What has impacted the cost of living?
High inflation persists in Malawi, alongside shortages of critical goods such as sugar and maize. Prices increased by 16% in Lilongwe in September. From March to September, the Malawian kwacha has weakened by 10% against the euro but has remained stable against the US dollar.
What does this mean for expats?
As inflation is likely to offset currency movements, assignees should see their indices rise.
South Sudan
What has impacted the cost of living?
South Sudan’s economy remains unstable because of ineffective monetary policy as well as political conflict, both internally and with neighbouring Sudan and Ethiopia. In Juba, prices rose by 24% in September. The South Sudanese pound has seen a 12% depreciation against the euro and 3% against the dollar from March to September.
What does this mean for expats?
The high inflation significantly outweighs movements in exchange rates. Therefore, assignees will likely see their indices rise.
UK
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation in the UK remained stable, with prices rising by 1% from March to September. Concerns about slowing economic growth meant that the British pound strengthened by 6% against the US dollar, but weakened by 4% against the euro in the same period.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees are unlikely to see any large changes to their indices as currency movements only slightly outpace inflation.
USA
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation remained low in the US, reaching 1% in September. Various factors have contributed to the weakening of the US dollar over the past year, including fracturing geopolitical alliances and trade relationships, as well as uncertainty over fiscal policy. The dollar has seen record lows, depreciating by 10% against the euro from March to September.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees may see their indices fall, as currency movements will outweigh the marginal inflation.
Venezuela
What has impacted the cost of living?
In September, the Venezuelan bolivar continued to depreciate rapidly, having fallen in value by 60% against the euro and by 56% the US dollar. Alongside increasing political tensions with the United States, inflation remained severe in Caracas, with prices increasing by 153%.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees in Venezuela will see their indices rise as the hyperinflation significantly outweighs the depreciation of the local currency.
Zambia
What has impacted the cost of living?
Inflation in Zambia stabilised in September, reaching 2%. Over the past year, the Zambian kwacha has strengthened significantly. The kwacha has become one of Africa’s strongest performing currencies in 2025, thanks to reduced import demand and tight monetary policy, leading to improved investor confidence. Over the period from March to September, the kwacha appreciated by 9% against the euro and by 21% against the US dollar.
What does this mean for expats?
Assignees in Zambia should see their indices rice as the currency appreciation will outweigh the moderate inflation.
Post-survey developments
The information in this blog describes the changes up to the September 2025 Cost of Living Survey but in some countries circumstances can change quickly. That is why we carry out extra surveys for high inflation countries (see below) and publish regular blog posts on exchange rate and inflation changes around the world, so you can be prepared for anything.
Sign up to ECA's blog alerts to make sure you stay up to date with the latest exchange rate and inflation news.
ECA's interim surveys
While inflation has fallen in much of the world there are still some countries where it remains very high and it is essential to have up-to-date information.
Fortunately for those managing assignees around the world, ECA surveys high inflation locations quarterly and in December 2025 will cover four countries.
We have undertaken interim surveys for the following countries due to high inflation expectations: Iran, Malawi, South Sudan, and Venezuela. The results will be available this week.
Protect your people - control your costs
If you need advice regarding currency fluctuations or would like additional information or data on any of the locations included in our survey, please get in touch.
ECA publishes cost of living data for more than 500 locations around the world. Learn more about ECA’s cost of living data by downloading our FREE cost of living white paper which explains how ECA's indices are calculated and applied to protect the buying power of people moving between countries as well as looking at what causes them to change over time.
Our cost of living data is available as part of a subscription or as one-off calculations. It is also built in to ECA’s Build-up, Net-to-Net and Cost Estimate Calculators which enable calculations in seconds. Cost of living data is also pre-populated in ECAEnterprise, our Assignment Management System.