Singapore Is it really the most expensive place to live
Singapore has been ranked one of the most expensive city in the world, by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its annual Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) survey.
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) survey is designed to help human resource managers and finance managers around the world calculate cost of living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travellers. Hence, it may not reflect the cost of living for Singaporeans.
First, the WCOL survey’s consumption basket does not reflect what Singaporeans usually consume.
The WCOL survey looks at the prices of a common set of products and services in the various cities to allow for city-to-city comparisons. As such, its consumption basket may not reflect what Singaporeans usually consume and is therefore not a good gauge of cost of living for Singaporean households. For instance, its consumption basket includes products such as brand name raincoats and foreign daily newspapers – these are typically not purchased by Singaporean households.