According to the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global cost of living report, living costs in 172 major cities around the world have increased by an average of 8.1% over the past year, due to factors including the war in Ukraine and supply chain difficulties.
The Israeli city of Tel Aviv topped the rankings last year but dropped to third place this year. Meanwhile, Hong Kong (China) and Los Angeles (USA) are both in the top 5 most expensive destinations in the world.
According to Bloomberg, Asian cities tend to escape the situation of rising prices like in other places when they only recorded an average cost of living increase of 4.5%.
Other important findings from the new global survey are that two Japanese cities including Tokyo and Osaka dropped to 24th and 33rd place respectively due to low interest rates. Syria's Damascus and Libya's Tripoli are the cheapest places in the world.
Sydney entered the top 10 as exports strongly supported the Australian dollar. San Francisco (USA) moved from 24th place last year to 8th place this year. China's six most expensive cities all increased their rankings, with Shanghai in the top 20.
The survey was conducted in August and September this year, comparing more than 400 individual prices across more than 200 products and services in 172 cities worldwide.
Cities in the top 10 most expensive places in the world in 2022:
Singapore - 1
New York, USA - 1
Tel Aviv, Israel - 3
Hong Kong, China - 4
Los Angeles, USA - 4
Zurich, Switzerland - 6
Geneva, Switzerland - 7
San Francisco, USA - 8
Paris, France - 9
Copenhagen, Denmark - 10
Sydney, Australia - 10
