In the latest global survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 report, both Singapore and Zurich have surpassed New York as the world’s most expensive cities to reside in this year. This shift is attributed to the exorbitant costs associated with car ownership, expensive alcohol, and the escalating prices of groceries in Singapore, allowing it to pull ahead of its U.S. counterpart with which it shared the top spot last year.
Notably, Zurich made a significant leap from sixth place in the previous year to a joint first position, driven by factors such as the robust Swiss franc, along with elevated expenses in groceries, household goods, and recreation. The top five costliest places were rounded out by Geneva (tied with New York in third position) and Hong Kong. Overall, global prices exhibited an average year-on-year increase of 7.4% in local currency terms, slightly narrower than the 8.1% surge observed in the preceding year.
Cities in China experienced a notable decline in the rankings, primarily due to the nation’s gradual post-pandemic recovery and subdued consumer demand. In contrast, cities in Mexico, namely Santiago de Queretaro and Aguascalientes, witnessed significant upward movement in the rankings as the peso strengthened against the U.S. dollar.
Further insights from the study revealed that Los Angeles (sixth place) and San Francisco (tenth place) were the only other U.S. cities to secure positions in the top 10. The Syrian capital of Damascus retained its status as the cheapest city, despite experiencing a substantial 321% rise in its cost-of-living basket price.
The weakening of the Japanese yen resulted in Tokyo slipping 23 places to 60th, and Osaka dropping 27 spots to rank 70th. Although Tel Aviv made it to the top 10, it’s worth noting that the survey was conducted before the Israel-Hamas war, which might have impacted prices.
In terms of economic indicators, utility prices exhibited the slowest increase among the ten broad categories of goods and services examined, rising by 5.7%. Upasana Dutt, the head of worldwide cost of living at EIU, mentioned that the supply-side shocks causing price increases in 2021-22 have diminished since China lifted its COVID-19 restrictions in late 2022. Additionally, the spike in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has eased.
Looking ahead, despite potential upside risks, there is an expectation that inflation will decelerate further in 2024, leading to a global easing of prices. The survey, conducted between August 14 and September 11, compared over 400 individual prices in 173 cities worldwide. The top 10 most expensive cities in the world for 2023, including ties, are as follows:
- Singapore 1
- Zurich 1
- Geneva 3
- New York 3
- Hong Kong 5
- Los Angeles 6
- Paris 7
- Copenhagen 8
- Tel Aviv 8
- San Francisco 10.
