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21st Mar 2017

Here are the ten most expensive cities to live in

Conor Heneghan

Visited many of these?

Asia now accounts for half of the ten most expensive cities in the world.

Singapore is once again the most expensive city to live in on the planet, according to the 2017 edition of the Worldwide Cost of Living report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Singapore is one of five Asian cities in the top ten, including Hong Kong – which leapfrogs Zurich into second place – and Tokyo and Osaka, a reflection of a sustained recovery in the strength of the Japanese yen.

Zurich is the highest-ranking of of four representatives from Western Europe in the top ten, with Geneva, Paris and Copenhagen also making the cut.

New York is the only representative from North America in the top ten, with the moderating strength of the US dollar cited as a factor in the report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The ranking of the cities on the list was affected by a wide range of different factors, including everything from currency valuation, inflation and salaries down to the average price of a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, 20 cigarettes and a litre of petrol.

Interestingly, five of the biggest movers down the rankings from last year are from China and two are from the UK (London and Manchester), while, in contrast, four of the biggest movers up the ranks are from New Zealand and Australia at a time when the Canadian dollar, the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar have all appreciated in value.

In terms of the cheapest cities in the world, India is the place to go with four representatives in the top ten, alongside once city apiece in Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Algeria, Ukraine and Romania.

For more information on the report, check out the Economist Intelligence Unit website.

Most expensive cities in the world

  1. Singapore
  2. Hong Kong
  3. Zurich, Switzerland
  4. Tokyo, Japan
  5. Osaka, Japan
  6. Seoul, South Korea
  7. Geneva, Switzerland
  8. Paris, France
  9. New York, USA
  10. Copenhagen, Denmark

Cheapest cities in the world

  1. Almaty, Kazakhstan
  2. Lagos, Nigeria
  3. Bangalore, India
  4. Karachi, Pakistan
  5. Algiers, Algeria
  6. Chennai, India
  7. Mumbai, India
  8. Kiev, Ukraine
  9. Bucharest, Romania
  10. New Delhi, India

Topics:

Money,Travel