Runner-up: Cairo, Egypt

Extremely low property rents and some of the lowest wage levels in the Middle East make Aden in Yemen the most cost-effective location in this year’s competition. Office rents in Aden are on average $75 per square metre per year, less than half that in many other Middle Eastern cities, which can command rents of $300 per square metre or more. Salaries in Aden are also a fraction of those in more developed countries with unskilled labour rates on average $0.91 per hour.