Singapore still world's most expensive city
Photo: SelectTravel
Singapore has been crowned the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The EIU's annual report, which compares the cost of living in 133 cities around the world (using New York as a base city) found that Singapore is still the most expensive.
The city leads an unchanged top five, with Paris in second, Oslo third, Zurich fourth and Sydney fifth, primarily because they remain "structurally expensive". There is plenty of movement lower down the list, though, thanks to shifting exchange rates. Caracas, in Venezuela, fell 124 places, from sixth in last year’s ranking to fourth from bottom in 2015. Kiev (Ukraine) and Tehran (Iran) also fell 38 and 61 places respectively.
It is not just emerging markets that are prone to slides. Tokyo in Japan, which was replaced as the world's most expensive city last year, has fallen to 11th place, as low inflation and a weak Yen take their toll. Conversely, Seoul, in South Korea, is rising quickly up the rankings: ranked 50th five years ago, it is now in the top 10.
"The situation of an unchanged top five is very rare for the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey and disguises some significant global drivers that are impacting the cost of living everywhere," comments Jon Copestake, Chief Retail & Consumer Goods Analyst and editor of the report at the The Economist intelligence Unit.
"In fact, a look at the data six months ago would have shown a different top five, and things are changing quickly, especially with the fall in oil prices. Rebasing the survey to today's exchange rates would put Zurich top, highlighting how fluid the global cost of living has become."
Despite topping the ranking, Singapore still offers relative value in some categories. For basic groceries, Singapore is only 11 per cent more expensive than New York, but it is the joint most expensive place in the world alongside Seoul to buy clothes, with the malls of Orchard Road offering a price premium that is over 50 per cent higher than New York.
Karachi in Pakistan and Bangalore in India offer the best value for money. Indeed, Indian cities make up four of the six cheapest destinations in the chart. The top 10 is completed by Australia's Melbourne, Switzerland's Geneva, Denmark's Copenhagen, Hong Kong and South Korea's Seoul.
