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Most Expensive City To Live In The World Survey

First Posted: 02/16/2012 11:46 am Updated: 02/16/2012 11:55 am

Looking to relocate? You might want to take a peek at the Economist Intelligence Unit's new report on which cities have the most expensive cost-of-living before settling on a destination.

Their conclusion? As in previous years, steer clear of Japan and Switzerland if you're keen on saving. Both countries dominate the top-ten of most expensive locations in the world.

The group explains:

Both Japan and Switzerland have seen strong currency movements over the last few years which have made them relatively more expensive. This has become especially true of Switzerland in the last year, where investors looking for a haven currency outside the beleaguered Eurozone have invested heavily in the Swiss Franc, prompting an unprecedented move by the Swiss government to peg the Swiss Franc to the Europe to keep the currency competitive.

The cheapest cities in the world are located on the Indian subcontinent and in the Middle East. According to the study, the world's cheapest destinations are Karachi, Pakistan; Mumbai, India; and Tehran, Iran.

The Economist's bi-annual report analyzes the cost of living in 140 cities in 93 countries worldwide, comparing prices of costs such as food, drink, clothing, renting a home, transport and schooling. However, as The Atlantic Wire points out, determining what makes a city more expensive than others is a complicated affair: "The most expensive loaf of bread belongs to Tokyo, where a 1 kg-supermarket loaf costs $7.96, compared to Hong Kong ($2.91). But a liter of gas in Hong Kong costs $2.13, more than a liter in Tokyo."

Can you guess the world's most expensive city? Find out if you're right in the slideshow below!


Loading Slideshow...
  • 10. Frankfurt, Germany

    Nightly view of the skyline of Frankfurt/Main, Germany, in this photo taken Tuesday night, Sept. 3, 2002. (AP)

  • 9. Singapore

    Telefonica Black sails on a close reach course with the Singapore skyline in the background during the fourth leg of their round the world race to Qindao, China, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 in Singapore. (AP)

  • 8. Melbourne, Australia

    In this photo released by Australian Grand Prix, the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix hot-air balloon flies over the city of Melbourne on Wednesday March 1, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. (AP)

  • 7. Sydney, Australia

    People walk past a shop front window with a sculpture of a kangaroo made entirely of Louis Vuitton bags in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. (AP)

  • 6. Paris, France

    Bare-chested models pose in front of the Abercrombie & Fitch shop on the Champs Elysees in Paris Thursday May 12, 2011, as of the promotion of the opening of the new U.S. brand shop in Paris. (AP)

  • 5. Oslo, Norway

    Winner Therese Johaug of Norway competes in front of the Oslo skyline during the women's 30 km mass start race at the Ski World Championships in Holmenkollen near Oslo, Norway, Saturday, March 5, 2011. (AP)

  • Tied for 3rd - Osaka Kobe, Japan

    Undated photo showing exterior view of a castle in Osaka, Japan. (AP)

  • Tied For 3rd - Geneva, Switzerland

    In this July 16, 2009 photo, two women attempt to jump into Lake Geneva in the center of Geneva, Switzerland. (AP)

  • 2. Tokyo, Japan

    In this Nov. 3, 2011 photo, people walk in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. (AP)

  • 1. Zurich, Switzerland

    Thousands of shoppers visit the newly opened entertainment and shopping center Sihlcity in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, March 22, 2007. (AP)

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07:00 AM on 02/22/2012
As a American guy living and working in Sydney I believe it. Just double everything is what I tell friends back in the states. I'm lucky business takes me back a couple times a year so i buy almost nothing in Australia other than food and rent! The US is now the cheapest first world country to live in in my opinion.
08:52 AM on 03/14/2012
I was just down under and live in NYC, Melbourne and Sydney makes New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo look cheap to me.
09:34 AM on 02/21/2012
I have lived in US, Japan, China before and now work in Singapore. While I have to say that US is by far the cheapest place to live considering the salaries, Asians somehow still manage to save far more money.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ukaisofu
12:27 AM on 02/21/2012
Honolulu is the best City in the World with the best Mayor and City Government! I have lived her 46 years and saw most of the world's great cities.
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11:59 PM on 02/20/2012
I love Geneva. It is so beautiful.
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William A
Oh Lord, save me from your followers!
10:05 PM on 02/20/2012
Unless you're looking for something specific, it usually only makes sense to travel somewhere as expensive, or less expensive as where you live.

I've been to most of the European cities listed, and there is still cheap accomodation and cheap food to be had, you just have to lower your standards. Upscale hotels and restaurants cost more in Europe because these places actually have to pay their employees a living wage (minimum wage is around 20$ an hour for cleaners, bellhops, busboys you name it), as well as their health benefits, pensions and so on (through the government tax system mind you, not usually private insurance).
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12:00 AM on 02/21/2012
I will spend the extra money to stay in luxury hotels but find myself spending less on food. I need to have a quality place to stay. For food in Paris, I love going to the grocery and getting bread and cheese, etc.
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William A
Oh Lord, save me from your followers!
11:51 AM on 02/21/2012
LOL, I do that too... it's funny the things you can learn from a country's supermarkets :)
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inthedesert
Those who never question will fall for anything.
06:21 PM on 02/20/2012
At this point, I would love to live anywhere but America. LMAO. Even Iceland sounds good.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
icylib
wiser today than yesterday
11:20 PM on 02/20/2012
Iceland is incredible and the Icelanders are way beyond cool!!!
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12:01 AM on 02/21/2012
lol no you wouldn't.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kald
12:31 PM on 02/20/2012
This is a pointless comparison. You need to calculate in wages and social benefits in order to say where it is "expensive" to live.

The most expensive gas in the world is in Norway. However, the average Norwegian needs to spend less time at work in order to afford a gallon of gas, than most other people.
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William A
Oh Lord, save me from your followers!
09:54 PM on 02/20/2012
Most expensive gas, and third biggest exporter of oil! lol
02:13 AM on 02/26/2012
hi am sandra johnson,i saw your profile this page.....i will love to know you better reply my mail and lets talk ok or add me on facebook :sandrajohnson4pretty@yahoo.com
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06:05 AM on 02/20/2012
It seems funny to me. I back packed and trained across much of Europe in the 60s, and it cost me next to nothing. Marvelous beer in Madrid for 5 cents American, a bed in Sweden for 25 cents, to-die-for apple streudel in Germany for 25 cents, lunch in Berlin for 25 cents, fantastic bottle of wine in Paris for 80 cents, a huge pitcher of amazing sangria for 2 dollars. Those were the days. (Two things that were expensive, even back then, were cigs and petrol.)

We went back to Europe a couple of years ago, and some times we spent more in just one day than what I spent on my entire trek back in the 60s. Prices in Europe have gone up.
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Kald
12:27 PM on 02/20/2012
Wages have gone up as well accordingly. In Europe that is!
08:58 PM on 02/20/2012
Eeer, 100$ would have been 600 swiss francs in the 60's.It is now worth a mere 90 swiss francs...
01:04 AM on 02/20/2012
If you have a look at the rest of the figures, nearly all Australian capital cities make it into the top 20. Perth, Adelaide & Brisbane all get up there. Having returned to Australia after living in London for 10 years, I agree, it is way more expensive here than London. It's bloody ridiculous. We always do our comparison by a pint of beer, Perth is average $10. Which is over $10 US, and GBP 6.70. Housing is also insanely overpriced.
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05:56 AM on 02/20/2012
A pint of beer for $10? Forgettaboutit! I can still get a six pack of Guinness at the store for less than that.
GSR
Crouch! Touch! Pause! Engage!
09:16 PM on 02/20/2012
Yeah but a pint of blood is free. Things like universal health care, federally funded universities, livable minimum wage and real social safety nets also have to be considered when evaluating costs.
10:21 PM on 02/20/2012
To be fair, you can get a fairly decent bottle of cleanskin wine for between $3-7, and a really good one for about $10. So the motto is - drink wine!
06:31 AM on 02/21/2012
Australia is so expensive now. Sydney is a punish theses days. Minimum wage in Sydney needs to be $1000 to live. Median rent is now $450 per person.
My friend who lives in NYC finds Sydney ridiculously expensive. The US and Aust $ being at parity does help when we travel overseas though... The whole world is cheaper to us!
07:47 PM on 02/19/2012
Am I a bad person if I drool over the Abercrombie & Fitch photo in Paris?
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inthedesert
Those who never question will fall for anything.
06:13 PM on 02/20/2012
NO!! I am drooling also.
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Voices in the Wilderness
05:52 PM on 02/19/2012
Sydney is horrendous. And it is all set up to gouge especially the tourists. If you fly into Sydney International, it will cost about $25 to take City Rail downtown to Circular Quay where the Opera House is. On the other hand a trip by City Rail for locals from Newcastle Centre, 200 km to the north, to Circular Quay costs about $8.00.

Better to wait a while before visiting. Australia is getting a bad case of Dutch Disease. Factories are closing, tourism is dying, and house prices have started to fall. Put any idea of visiting off for a couple of years.
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inthedesert
Those who never question will fall for anything.
06:15 PM on 02/20/2012
What you say is true. I sometimes read the Sydney Morning Herald to get a different slant on things. The housing market in Oz is starting to tank just like it did here in America. Tourism, as you say, is way down. But, if I were younger and richer, I would move to Oz in a heartbeat. LOL.
GSR
Crouch! Touch! Pause! Engage!
09:23 PM on 02/20/2012
No. When the house prices tanked in the US it took the economy with it. There is no doubt that Sydney's house prices are untenable but banks here are not allowed to behave like American banks and all housing loans require substantial equity on the part of the mortgagee.
If there is a correction that will be be a good thing. Immigration is keeping prices high in my street though.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Winthorpe
Need a fourth for squash
11:10 AM on 02/19/2012
I love Frankfurt -- as a place from which to fly to much better places. What else have I missed?
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Enlightened22
Deviens qui tu es.
11:16 AM on 02/19/2012
Lol, so true, That city gives a new meaning to boring.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ethrop
micro-bio-tic
11:25 PM on 02/19/2012
nice zoo ?
07:14 AM on 02/22/2012
Hey I dated a girl years ago who lived right next to it and you could hear the animals at night! Good memories of summer evenings with Susan and the Frankfurt zoo residents!
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nete peedham
10:43 AM on 02/19/2012
Of course, Switzerland would be on top...with all the world's stolen money in its banks.
01:24 PM on 02/19/2012
No. It has very much to do with lack of building space in a small mountainous country and also the fact that the Swiss Franc is a refuge currency. The Swiss Franc is prone to speculators worldwide wanting to preserve their assets, and its increased valuation has been endless. In 1970, a dollar was 4.3 Swiss Franc. Today a dollar is 0.9 Swiss Franc.
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12:04 AM on 02/21/2012
oh forget about that stuff. the skiing, etc. is wonderful.
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Lanny Clifford
It isn't what it really is.
07:11 AM on 02/19/2012
I would like to see a survey based on the least expensive cities in the world.
It would be interesting to see the differences.
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inthedesert
Those who never question will fall for anything.
06:16 PM on 02/20/2012
You want to read about slums? Whatever......
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12:04 AM on 02/21/2012
lol
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Lanny Clifford
It isn't what it really is.
06:32 AM on 02/21/2012
Ummm. Let me think here for a second.
Yep, That's exactly what I want to see. We've read about the most expensive cities, Now lets read about the least expensive ones. Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica used to be cheap places to visit or live until recently. I have a friend that retired and relocated to Myanmar. She rented a five bedroom, Five bath home with a pool and three car garage, Complete with maids quarters and two maids. All for $400.00 per month. She loves it there and I'm getting close to retirement age and I'm curious also as to what options are out there besides reading about the most expensive places which are not an option for us being retired.
01:55 AM on 02/19/2012
I'm pretty sure Melbourne and Sydney are in there because of the relative strength of the Aussie dollar and the real estate prices are exhorbitant.
07:27 AM on 02/21/2012
No, just about everything is exhorbitantly expensive in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia wide actually. Australia's fruit and vegetables are the most expensive in the developed world.
Petrol, books, cards, CDs, postage, clothes, makeup, toiletries, housing, electrical goods, dry cleaners, shoe repair, yes, just about everything!