Malaysia, Johor Bahru

Country Full Name: Federation of Malaysia.

Country Location: Malaysia is a peninsula in South Eastern Asia bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam.

Country Climate: Tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons.

Country Terrain: Coastal plains rising to hills and mountains.

Country Major Languages: Malay (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam.

Country Major Religions: Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism.

Location Population: 1.8 Mil (2012 est.).

Country Economy: The economy of Malaysia is a growing and relatively open state-oriented market economy. The state plays a significant but declining role in guiding economic activity through macroeconomic plans.

Country Currency: Malaysian Ringgit (MYR).

Country Inflation: 1.3% (2012 est.).

Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor and is the second largest urban area in Malaysia, after the national capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Johor Bahru is an important industrial, tourism and commercial hub for southern Malaysia and one of the biggest industrial centres of the country. Major industries include electronics, resource and petrochemical refinery, and shipbuilding. Johor Bahru enjoys a close economic relationship with Singapore with a large number of residents in Johor Bahru working in Singapore and many Singaporeans living in Johor Bahru or visiting the city for shopping, entertainment, and dining.

The cost of living in Johor Bahru is average compared to other places. This is based on a comparison of locally collected prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services, converted to USD. Sources include local service providers in each location, international service providers, official governmental statistics and global agency data. The data is quality assured and manually checked by Xpatulator Analysts. The prices of similar related items have been grouped together into 13 basket groups and the cost of living index calculated for each basket in each location. The 13 basket groups are the result of extensive research of actual spending habits ensuring the cost of living indexes reflect a reality-based international expenditure pattern. The cost of living index for each basket for Johor Bahru is only available using our online calculators.

The current overall cost of living rank (using all 13 baskets) for Johor Bahru is 444 out of 780 international locations covering every country in the world (rank 1 is most expensive: rank 780 is least expensive). The current cost of living rank for each basket is as follows:

Alcohol & Tobacco costs are high compared to other places for items such as beer, spirits, wine and cigarettes. There are 189 places that are more expensive, and 590 places that are less expensive for alcohol and or tobacco.

Clothing costs are high compared to other places for items such as business, casual and children's clothing and footwear. There are 288 places that are more expensive, and 491 places that are less expensive for clothing.

Communication costs are high compared to other places for various communication costs such as home telephone rental, internet subscription, mobile tariff and data costs. There are 257 places that are more expensive, and 522 places that are less expensive for communication.

Education costs are average compared to other places for items such as creche / pre-school fees, primary school fees, high school fees and tertiary study fees. There are 441 places that are more expensive, and 338 places that are less expensive for education.

Furniture & Appliance costs are high compared to other places for items such as dining table and chairs, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, and sofa. There are 191 places that are more expensive, and 588 places that are less expensive for furniture and appliances.

Grocery costs are average compared to other places for items such as consumables, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruit & vegetables, general food products, snacks, soft drinks. There are 352 places that are more expensive, and 427 places that are less expensive for groceries.

Healthcare costs are low compared to other places for doctor visit, hospital stay, non-prescription medicine, and medical insurance. There are 616 places that are more expensive, and 163 places that are less expensive for healthcare.

Household Accommodation costs are low compared to other places for items such as apartment purchase, mortgage rate, rental, and utilities. There are 519 places that are more expensive, and 260 places that are less expensive for household accommodation.

Miscellaneous costs are very high compared to other places for items such as dry cleaning, linen, magazines, newspapers, office supplies, and postage stamps. There are 127 places that are more expensive, and 652 places that are less expensive for miscellaneous items.

Personal Care costs are very low compared to other places for items such as cosmetics, hair care, and toiletries. There are 678 places that are more expensive, and 101 places that are less expensive for personal care.

Recreation and Culture costs are low compared to other places for items such as books, cinema, sport and theatre tickets. There are 546 places that are more expensive, and 233 places that are less expensive for recreation and culture.

Restaurants, Meals Out and Hotel costs are low compared to other places for items such as hotel daily room rates, meals and beverages in restaurants, and take away food and beverages. There are 491 places that are more expensive, and 288 places that are less expensive for restaurants, meals out and hotels.

Transport costs are low compared to other places for items such as fuel (petrol/gasoline), public transport, vehicle purchase and maintenance. There are 514 places that are more expensive, and 265 places that are less expensive for transport.

Hardship
Hardship in the context of an expatriate and their family refers to the degree of hardship they are likely to experience and the relative impact on their lifestyle in a host location. The degree of hardship correlates to the degree of difference between the home and host location. Hardship pay is compensation for the hardship likely to be endured during an international assignment in order to encourage people to move, in particular to less desirable locations.

Hardship factors include-:
Economic Factors: Such as poverty levels and level of service provision
Political Factors: Such as freedom/tolerance towards different points of view / lifestyle
Religious Factors: Such as freedom/tolerance towards different religions
Public Service Factors: Such as provision of water, electricity, sanitation, work permits etc
Environment/Climate Factors: Such as extreme weather
Personal Safety Factors: Such as personal safety / level of crime
Health Factors: Such as prevalence of disease and health standards
Education Factors: Such as education standards, prevalence of international schools
Transportation Factors: Such as prevalence of public transport, fuel and road safety.

The ratings for hardship are classified into four main groups and can be described as follows:
1) Minimal Hardship (10% Hardship Premium)
2) Some Hardship (20% Hardship Premium)
3) High degree of Hardship (30% Hardship Premium)
4) Extreme Hardship (40% Hardship Premium).

Johor Bahru is ranked as some hardship with a typical hardship premium of 20%.

Reference
The above information is updated quarterly using data collected over the previous 12 months. The international cost of living & hardship indexes are only available using our online expatriate calculators to enable users to create personalized cost of living comparison reports:

Salary Purchasing Power Parity Calculator
Cost of Living Index Calculator
Cost of Living Allowance Calculator

Published by Xpatulator.com on 1 April 2013.

To link to this article: http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-review/Malaysia-Johor-Bahru_472.cfm