The world's most expensive cities to live in
10 March 2016
Pricey places to live in
Think things are expensive where you live? The Economist has surveyed more than 50,000 individual prices – including food, rent and transport – across 160 cities to find the world's priciest places to live. Click on to find out where they are.
=8: Los Angeles, US
Our look at at the 10 most expensive cities starts in Los Angeles, which is in a threeway tie for eighth place.
=8: Los Angeles, US
Los Angeles has jumped a remarkable 19 places compared to last year. That's not to say residents have suffered a sharp rise in prices. It's actually more to do with a strong dollar and weak euro making many eurozone cities far cheaper. Looking at actual prices, you will have to pay a hefty £4 for a 1kg loaf of bread – the third priciest in the top 10 – while it's the second most expensive place for wine at £16.50 for a 750ml bottle.
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=8: Seoul, South Korea
While prices have remained broadly the same in Los Angeles, the same is not true for Seoul, where residents have been hit with huge price hikes in recent years. As a point of comparison, the city was ranked 36th on the list just five years ago.
=8: Seoul, South Korea
So why does Seoul rank so highly on the list? Admittedly bread isn't quite the staple here as it is in Western countries, but the £8.75 price for a loaf is still staggering – it's even risen more than £2.10 in the last five years. The city is also priciest for wine (£17.88), but smokers can at least enjoy the cheapest cigarettes in the top 10, costing just £2.61 for a pack of 20.
=8: Denmark, Copenhagen
The third city tied in 8th place is Copenhagen in Denmark, which is the same position it held in last year's list. It's the only Scandinavian city to feature, after Oslo in Norway (third last year) dropped out of the top 10.
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=8: Denmark, Copenhagen
If you're planning to move to the Danish capital, the good news is you'll get far cheaper plonk than in Seoul or Los Angeles. At £8.14 for table wine, that's less than half the price of the aforementioned cities. And while £2.27 for bread might seem expensive to most of us, it's actually the second cheapest price in the cities in the top 10.
7: New York, US
Living in New York is all about timing, it would seem. The city was ranked the sixth most expensive place to live back in 2002, before falling as low as 49th in 2011. Since then it's been shooting back up the table, rising from 22nd to 7th in the last year alone.
7: New York, US
Given it's in the US, petrol is unsurprisingly cheap, when compared to the world's other cities, at just 46p per litre. So what makes New York so expensive (apart from property, of course)? A pack of cigarettes will set you back £9.50, the second highest on the list, while a loaf of bread costs a hefty £5.83.
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6: London, UK
London is the highest new entrant to the top 10, having risen five places from 11th last year.
6: London, UK
If you're a smoker it's best to avoid London (and the UK in general for that matter), as you'll have to cough up £10 for a pack – more than any other city in the top 10. It's not much better for motorists, with petrol costing an eye-watering £1.24 a litre. Surprisingly that is only the second highest on the list.
5: Paris, France
While the weaker euro has seen all other eurozone cities drop out of the top 10, perennially-pricey Paris remains, albeit three places lower than last year.
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5: Paris, France
According to The Economist: “Paris remains structurally extremely expensive to live in, with only alcohol and tobacco offering value for money compared with other European cities.” And it's not wrong. You'll struggle to find another Western capital city where cigarettes (£5.52) cost about the same amount as bread (£5.22).
4: Geneva, Switzerland
While there's been a lot of change in this year's rankings, one thing remains a certainty: Swiss cities are eye-wateringly expensive. Or as The Economist puts it: “The unpegging of the Swiss franc from the euro, coupled with structurally high income and price levels, means that Zurich and Geneva will continue to vie for the unenviable title of Europe’s most expensive city.”
4: Geneva, Switzerland
While European cities tend to be priciest in the recreation and entertainment categories, Zurich and Geneva are the most expensive. This might be because Switzerland in general charges more for things considered 'discretionary spending'.
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=2: Zurich, Switzerland
While Geneva jumped three places in this year's list, Zurich remains the more expensive of the two Swiss cities after rising two places to stand joint second. The fact that both have climbed this year confirms that neither has been affected by eurozone austerity measures and have missed out on the impact of falling oil prices.
=2: Zurich, Switzerland
Given the amount of fiscal freedom afforded to each of Switzerland's municipalities, there are big differences in the price of goods across the country. For example, a loaf of bread costs £4.11 in Zurich but £4.94 in Geneva. Similarly, table wine will set you back £9.97 per bottle in the former and £5.67 in the latter.
=2: Hong Kong
Sharing second place with Zurich is Hong Kong, which has climbed seven places in the last 12 months.
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=2: Hong Kong
Costing £1.42 per litre, Hong Kong is the priciest place to purchase petrol in the top 10 – that's almost three times more expensive than New York. Looking at groceries overall, it is also 28% more expensive than the most expensive city in the world, which is...
1: Singapore
Singapore, the city that has held the title for three years running. However, the gap between it and second place is the narrowest it's been during that time, with the cost of many goods actually falling in the last year.
1: Singapore
But many aspects of life in Singapore remain staggeringly expensive. For example, transport costs are almost three times higher than New York, and it's the most expensive place in the world to buy and run a car. Utility bills are also among the world's highest, as is the cost of clothing.