Singapore, along with New York, has emerged as the world’s most expensive city to live in, in 2022, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
It is not new for Singapore to be in the top spot, but for New York, it was the first time. In the last ten years, Singapore remained at the top for the eighth time.
Singapore “has the world’s highest transport prices, owing to strict government controls on car numbers. It is also among the most expensive cities for clothing, alcohol, and tobacco, thanks to its success as a premier location for business investment,” the report said.
The city came in the second spot along with Paris last year.
Singapore and the debutante topper- New York, smashed last year’s leader Tel Aviv down to third place. It could happen because of their stronger currencies and higher inflation rate, the EIU reported in its new Worldwide Cost of Living survey of 172 cities.
Overall, the average cost of living in the biggest cities of the world soared by 8.1% this year, the report cited a poll that the firm conducted between Aug. 16 and Sept. 16.
According to the EIU survey, prices increased by 3.5% in 2021.
The war in Ukraine and Covid’s lingering impact on logistics contributed to this rise.
Los Angeles jumped to fourth rank this year from the ninth position in 2021. San Francisco, which did not appear in the top 10 most expensive cities list last year, is now the eighth most expensive city for a person to live in.
Depreciation In Currency, A Fall In City Ranking
Rankings of those cities tumbled, whose countries’ currencies weakened this year.
Japan’s Osaka fell from the 10th position in 2021 to the 43rd spot as the most expensive city to live in. Similarly, South Korea’s Busan tripped 25 spots from last year to 106th, EIU data showed.
“Japan and South Korea have also seen currency depreciation, while local-currency inflation in these countries is fairly subdued; this has pushed down the indices for Tokyo and Seoul compared with New York,” the report said.
Russian Cities Showed Improvement in Ranking
The Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg made the highest jump by 88 and 70 spots, respectively. Moscow is now the 36th most expensive place to live in, while St. Petersburg is in the 73rd position.
“Capital controls, import suppression, and the conversion of European gas payments into rubles are supporting the value of the local currency,” EIU said. In addition, Western sanctions on Russia contributed to “extremely high” inflation there.
Top 10 Most Expensive Cities Of The World 2022:
1. TIE: New York
1. TIE: Singapore
3. Tel Aviv
4. TIE: Hong Kong
4. TIE: Los Angeles
6. Zurich
7. Geneva
8. San Francisco
9. Paris
10. TIE: Sydney
10. TIE: Copenhagen
