The Economist Intelligence Unit released the results of its ‘Worldwide Cost of Living’ report and once again Singapore was named the world’s most expensive city to reside in for a third consecutive time. However, its lead in the ranking is shrinking and it could soon be overtaken by a number of other cities.
Zurich and Hong Kong follow closely in joint second place, with Hong Kong climbing seven places in the rankings during the past year. London, New York and Los Angeles rose to sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Sydney, Melbourne and Oslo fell from the top ten this time around. New York, Los Angeles and other US cities climbed in this year’s rankings because of a stronger dollar and not due to any significant local price rises.
New York is in its highest global position since 2002 and has jumped up 42 places in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s rankings during the past five years. As recently as 2011, it was clinging on to a spot in the top-50 most expensive cities but now sees itself trending towards the top.
Back in Singapore, the island remains consistently expensive in a number of areas and happens to be the most expensive place in the world to buy and maintain a car. The report also noted that transportation costs in Singapore are 2.7 times higher than in New York with buying clothes and paying for utility expense also fairly costly. It is not all doom and gloom for Singapore’s population. The city still offers relative value in some categories with basic groceries costing far less there than in other Asian locations like Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The report concluded that the cost of living is always changing and there are already indications of further changes that are set to take place during the coming year as oil prices and commodity prices continue to fall and exchange-rate movements also leave a mark on local economies.
