By Andrew Batt:
As weakness persists in Europe, rising wages and growth in Asia are pushing up the relative cost of living here, according to the latest findings of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, a relocation tool that compares the cost of living between 131 cities worldwide using New York as a base city.
Bangkok rose two places in 2012, now occupying 61st position globally and 19th of the 27 cities in Asia which were surveyed in the report.
Trisha Suresh, Analyst, The Economist Intelligence Unit based in Singapore, told DDproperty.com: “Despite Bangkok’s rise, individual items such as bread, rice, milk and cigarettes have actually dipped in prices. It is important to note that this is primarily because costs are indexed to the US dollar, and ranking movements are highly affected by currency fluctuations. The baht has strengthened slightly to the dollar between 2012 and 2013 – with THB31.1 to a dollar to THB30.4 to the dollar.”
Having been pushed down in the global cost of living ranking by Zurich last year, Tokyo finds itself the world’s most expensive city once more. This comes despite a relative index fall of 14 percentage points for Tokyo compared to New York. Zurich saw an even steeper slide of 39 percentage points as Swiss authorities stepped in to stop it becoming too expensive.
Tokyo’s position will be a familiar one. The city has been the most expensive in the world for 14 of the last 20 years but the increased prominence of Asian cities among the most expensive is becoming noticeable. As European cities continue to fall down the cost of living rankings, currency swings in Australasia, the relative economic health of hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong and the continued growth of wages and economic growth in China have all acted to raise the relative cost of living in Asian cities.
"The cost of living in Europe has seen relative declines thanks to economic austerity and currency fears" said Jon Copestake, Editor of the report which looks at more than 400 individual prices.
"But Asian cities have also been rising on the back of wage growth and economic optimism. This means that over half of the 20 most expensive cities now hail from Asia and Australasia"
In particular, Australian cities have been rising very quickly up the rankings as economic growth has supported inflation and currency swings to make them more costly. The current survey sees Sydney rated as third and Melbourne as fifth most expensive cities surveyed. They are joined in the top ten by Singapore, with Hong Kong sitting just outside the top ten in 14th place
Twenty-seven Asian cities surveyed moved up the ranking, compared to eight which fell and just two whose position is unchanged. Chinese cities in particular have seen the cost of living continue to rise, fuelled by wage inflation and rising demand for consumer goods as well as tight currency controls. However, the most rapid progress was made by the Vietnamese cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, both of which rose 17 places, to 93rd and 96th place respectively.
Despite the rises Asia remains host to the world’s cheapest cities, most of which are located in the South Asian Indian subcontinent. Cheap prices in Karachi, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kathmandu, Colombo and Tehran mean that Asian cities also make up the majority of the bottom ten locations surveyed.
How Asian Cities ranked
Country / City (Global rank)
Japan,Tokyo (1)
Japan, Osaka (2)
Australia, Sydney (3)
Australia, Melbourne (4)
Singapore (6)
Australia, Perth (11)
Australia, Brisbane (13)
Hong Kong (14)
Australia, Adelaide (16 =)
New Zealand, Auckland (19)
New Zealand, Wellington (20)
South Korea, Seoul (21 =)
New Caledonia, Nouméa (25)
China, Shanghai (30 =)
China, Shenzhen (40 =)
China, Dalian (43 =)
China, Beijing (54 =)
Taiwan, Taipei (60)
Thailand, Bangkok (61 =)
China, Guangzhou (71)
China, Suzhou (72 =)
China, Qingdao (72 =)
Indonesia, Jakarta (79 =)
China, Tianjin (79 =)
Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (82)
Vietnam, Hanoi (93 =)
Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (96 =)
Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan (103)
Philippines, Manila (106 =)
Cambodia, Phnom Penh (113 =)
Bangladesh, Dhaka (121)
Iran, Tehran (122)
Sri Lanka, Colombo (125)
Nepal, Kathmandu (128)
India, New Delhi (129)
India, Mumbai (130 =)
Pakistan, Karachi (130 =)
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@allproperty.com.sg
Recent stories you may have missed
Nominations open for Thailand Property Awards 2013
Thailand to see more overseas demand for condominiums
Bangkok office rates are the lowest in Asia
Agents outraged at liars comments
Bangkok to see more London property exhibitions
Get daily property news in Thai and English straight to your Inbox from Thailand’s number one property website. Subscribe today for free.