Under The Angsana Tree: World’s most expensive city 2022

WORLDWIDE COST OF LIVING 2022

WORLDWIDE COST OF LIVING 2022

EIU’s latest Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) survey shows that prices have risen by an average of 8.1% in local-currency terms over the past year in the world’s biggest cities. This is the fastest rate for at least 20 years, reflecting a global cost-of-living crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine and continuing covid-19 restrictions in China.

New York tops the rankings for the first time, tying with frequent leader Singapore, which is back in pole position for the eighth time in ten years. Together the two have bumped Tel Aviv (Israel; top last year) down into third place. Damascus (Syria) and Tripoli (Libya) remain the cheapest of the 172 cities covered by our survey.

Istanbul (Turkey), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Tehran (Iran) have seen very high inflation. However, the highest inflation rate is in Caracas in Venezuela, where WCOL prices have risen by 132% since last year. Although Venezuela’s hyperinflation has slowed sharply since 2019, we continue to exclude the city from our global averages to avoid skewing the calculations.

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Singapore is world’s eighth most expensive city for expats

A significant increase in rental costs propelled the Lion City’s overall cost-of-living up

Singapore has risen four spots to rank as the eighth most expensive city in the world, according to the latest cost-of-living study conducted by ECA International. A significant increase in the city’s rental costs in 2022 led to its rise in ranking. Singapore ranked 12th in 2021.

The city’s relatively high rates of inflation in day-to-day goods and services in comparison to recent years also contributed to the rise. “The biggest driver of Singapore’s rise in our rankings has been a double-digit increase in rental costs in 2022,” said Lee Quane, regional director – Asia at ECA International. “The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the supply of accommodation coming to market and demand has increased significantly as the city has opened its borders once again. This may be a short-term shock but nonetheless, it has been responsible for Singapore’s current position as one of the ten most expensive locations worldwide.”

The Lion City’s performance is in contrast with the rest of its Asian peers. According to ECA International, 65% of surveyed locations in Asia fell in the global ranking, as inflation in the region was not as high compared to other locations in the world.

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