Abu Dhabi lost its lead as the Middle Eastern city with the highest cost of living to Beirut, while Dubai fell back 12 places in the global ranking, the Worldwide Cost of Living 2012, which was published by consultancy firm Mercer, showed Tuesday.

The annual Mercer study examines the cost of living for expatriates in 214 cities globally. In the Middle East, Abu Dhabi fell to place 76 from 67 last year. Beirut, on the other hand, moved up by eight notches to land on number 67 in the global Mercer ranking. Mostly due to pressure on real estate prices and rents, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital was replaced by Beirut as the most costly metropolis regionally.

The UAE's trade and business hub Dubai is regionally the third, as globally, Mercer said that Dubai has fallen to position 94 from 81, also because the property market saw an ongoing value decline.

Nevertheless, the UAE remains the most expensive place to live in the Gulf Arab union. Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are ahead of Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh (123), Manama, Bahrain (156), Kuwait City, Kuwait (134), Doha, Qatar (169), Muscat, Oman (179) and Jeddah, the western port city in Saudi Arabia (186).

Globally, the most expensive city to live for foreigners is Tokyo, which replaced Angola's capital Luanda, Mercer said.

Mercer compares costs for over 200 factors in each location including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.