Singapore: Singapore and Zurich have shared the title of the world’s most expensive cities this year, according to the Economic Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 report.
Singapore has reclaimed the top spot in the rankings for the ninth time in the past eleven years. This ranking is based on a comparison of over 400 individual prices for everyday goods and services across 173 cities worldwide.
As per the reports, “Price growth has slowed from the 8.1 percent reported in last year’s survey, but remains significantly above the trend in 2017-21.”
Singapore’s rise to the top was made possible by several factors. The high cost of car ownership, coupled with rising grocery and alcohol prices, pushed the city-state ahead of its previous co-leader, New York City.
Zurich returned to the number one position after three years on the back of a strong Swiss franc and expensive essential goods and recreation. The Swiss city was sixth in last year’s survey.
Los Angeles and San Francisco were the only other US cities to crack the top 10 alongside New York City. Due to sanctions that made the rouble less valuable, Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia had the greatest drop in their ranking.
The top ten cities consist of two Asian cities- Singapore and Hong Kong, four European cities- Zurich, Geneva, Paris, and Copenhagen, three US cities- New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco and Tel Aviv in Israel.
The EIU noted that the survey was conducted before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which has affected the exchange rates in Israel.
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