These are the world’s most expensive cities

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THE GLOBAL cost-of-living crisis that began in 2022 is now so much part of daily life that it is entering the vernacular. “Cozzie livs”, British slang for the crisis, was recently named Australia’s word of the year by the Macquarie Dictionary. The latest Worldwide Cost of Living survey by EIU, our sister company, confirms that inflation remains high worldwide: the prices of 200 products and services that it tracks rose by an average of 7.4% over the past year. This is down slightly from 8.1% in 2022, but remains well above the average of 2.9% over the previous five years. Our map and chart below reveal which cities are the most expensive.

Tied in first place this year were Singapore and Zurich. Singapore is no stranger to the top spot: it has ranked as the priciest place to live in nine of the past 11 years. Groceries, alcohol and clothing in the international business hub can cost a small fortune. The cost of a certificate needed to own a car (which the government wants to discourage) recently topped $106,000. Zurich, meanwhile, jumped five places from last year. Switzerland’s largest city is perennially pricey; it came joint first in 2020 and rarely leaves the top ten. Its rise to the top of the index is mostly because the Swiss franc has appreciated by more than 10% against the dollar over the past year. (The survey’s benchmark city is New York, so if a country’s currency strengthens its cities will generally move up the ranking.)

Western European cities, including Copenhagen, Dublin and Vienna, take around half of the top 20 spots. Rising prices are one reason. Another is that the European Central Bank raised interest rates six times in 2023 to tame inflation, which caused the euro to appreciate by 7% against the dollar. North American cities dropped in the ranking this year: New York, last year’s joint most-expensive city with Singapore, fell to third place.

The three biggest climbers were Santiago de Querétaro and Aguascalientes in Mexico, and Costa Rica’s capital, San José. Beijing was one of four Chinese cities among the ten biggest decliners in the ranking. That reflects the depreciation of the renminbi and the faltering of China’s recovery from the pandemic. Moscow and St Petersburg fell furthest, plummeting by 105 places to 142nd and by 74 places to 147th, respectively. The rouble collapsed against the dollar because of Western sanctions on Russian oil and high levels of military spending.

In last year’s report EIU predicted correctly that energy prices and supply-chain problems would ease in 2023. This year’s ends on a more pessimistic note. Interest rates are unlikely to come down soon, which will constrain economic growth; energy prices could rise again if the Israel-Hamas war spreads across the Middle East; and El Niño—which began in June and will last well into next year—could yet push up food prices. “Cozzie livs” will remain popular into 2024.■

Read more on the world’s most expensive cities:

Asia’s most expensive cities, ranked
These are the most expensive cities in North America