Singapore named world’s most expensive city

People cross the street of Singapore's Orchard Road shopping district. Picture: Getty/AFP

The Economist Intelligence Unit, which ran the study, named Paris as Europe’s most expensive city – and second in the survey – while Oslo, Zurich and Syndey, in that order, rounded off the top five.

London, one of only two British cities to be included among the 133 listed – the other being Manchester – came in at joint 11th.

Tokyo, which two years ago held the number one spot on the EIU list, is now level with London due to weak inflation and a devaluation of the Japanese yen.

Singapore's harbour and financial district. Picture: Phil Wilkinson/TSPL

Researchers found that India dominates the list of the ten cheapest cities in the world: Bangalore is the second-cheapest globally, while Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi make up the bottom ten.

Karachi in Pakistan, with a low wage economy and price subsidies in place, is the world’s cheapest city.

The most drastic movement from top to bottom of any city in the EIU study has been made by Caracas in Venezuela, which has fallen 124 places to become the third cheapest city in the world.

The survey provides a comparison of prices for more than 160 goods and services including groceries, clothing, utility bills and other regular living expenses. It uses New York prices as its baseline.

Researchers said that, had the recent spike in the value of the Swiss franc been taken into account, then Zurich would have supplanted Singapore at the top.