Singapore and New York are the most expensive cities to live in, EIU says

Singapore has once again been ranked as the most expensive city to live in, sharing the top spot with New York City this year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 

This is the eighth time in 10 years that Singapore topped the list. Both Singapore and New York City knocked last year’s leader, Tel Aviv, down to third place thanks to higher inflation and stronger currencies, the EIU reported in its new Worldwide Cost of Living survey of 172 cities.

According to the survey, the average price of goods in local currency terms surged by 8.1% this year, citing a poll that the firm conducted between Aug. 16 and Sept. 16. That’s up from the 3.5% rise in prices reported by the EIU’s 2021 survey.

Supply chain disruptions from China’s zero-Covid policy and the Russia-Ukraine war were two key reasons for higher inflation this year, Upasana Dutt, head of Worldwide Cost of Living at EIU, told CNBC. 

“These two combined together placed a lot more pressure on access to goods and availability of products that account for [the] very basic necessities of people. And both of these together, then drove inflation across the world,” she said.