You can also watch this video by clicking on the Play Button
The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) survey compares
prices, converted into U.S. dollars, across 160 products and services in
various countries, taking into consideration the costs of food, clothing,
personal care items, rents, transportation, private schools, domestic help and
recreation.
The 2016 annual survey found that Singapore remains the
most expensive city globally for the third year in a row. Paris got cheaper whereas Hong Kong climbed
seven places to tie for second place with Zurich.
Paris is the only euro-zone city this year to stay in the
top-ten, but it slipped three places to rank as the world's fifth most
expensive city, the survey found, citing weak confidence in the euro.
"The stronger U.S. dollar and weaker euro has pushed
euro zone cities further down the ranking" the EIU said. But it noted that even with a weaker euro,
"Paris remains structurally extremely expensive to live in, with only
alcohol and tobacco offering value for money compared with other European
cities."
The EIU's basket of prices says the average price for a
ready-to-wear, mid-priced daytime women's dress is a whopping $552.80 for
Singapore, well above the $244.40 in Paris, but still below the more than
$1,000 in London.
The cost of a family car in Singapore is about $153,000,
well above the $22,000 rough cost in New York or about $37,800 in Paris. But
not many residents of Singapore buy cars, preferring to use taxis or the well-developed mass-transit system.
The average price for a bottle of 750ml table wine is
US$22.39 (S$30.90) in Singapore, higher than US$16.47 in Hong Kong and US$14.03
in New York, but lower than US$25.43 in Seoul.
Geneva came in at No.3, rising by three places in the
rankings, to land just behind Zurich.
Australian cities Sydney and Melbourne are out of the top
ten this year.
London also joined the top-ten this year, climbing five
places to rank No.6, as non-euro-zone European cities became more expensive
relative to euro-using peers.
U.S. cities saw some of the biggest moves, with New York
climbing 15 places to No.7 -- after falling as low as No.49 in 2011 -- and Los
Angeles rising 19 slots to No.10.
Below is a chart from the EIU with the top-10
most expensive cities globally:
