Singapore retains its title as the world’s most expensive city for a third year in a row, but its lead over the next two cities in the ranking has nearly evaporated, according to a new research published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Zurich and Hong Kong follow closely in joint second place, with Hong Kong climbing seven places up the ranking in the last 12 months. London, New York and Los Angeles also move up the ranking to 6th, 7th and 8th place, respectively, displacing Sydney, Melbourne and Oslo from the ten most expensive cities.
New York and Los Angeles move up the ranking because of currency headwinds rather than significant local price rises.
The cheapest were Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, followed by Bangalore and Mumbai in India, the EIU said.
The Worldwide Cost of Living is a bi-annual (twice yearly) Economist Intelligence Unit survey that compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services. These include food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs.
