Singapore No Longer World's Most Expensive City
The republic is now the fourth most expensive city to live in globally, after Zurich, Paris and Hong Kong.
Covid-19 has shuffled the rankings of the world's most expensive cities, with Zurich and Paris overtaking Singapore and Osaka in the latest «Worldwide Cost of Living» report, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) this week.
The biannual survey, which compares the prices of nearly 140 products and services in 133 cities around the world, showed how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the cost of living since the start of 2020 – largely as a result of currency volatility, supply chain problems, impact of taxes and subsidies, and shifts in consumer preferences, the report said.
Cities in the Americas, Africa and Eastern Europe became less expensive since 2019, while Western European cities have become costlier, partly the result of the rise in European currencies against the U.S. dollar.
Weak Demand
Singapore first topped EIU's list in 2014, and continued to hold the title for the next five years. Last year, it shared the top spot with Paris and Hong Kong.
EIU said prices in Singapore fell with the exodus of foreign workers in the country as the effects of the pandemic set in. With the population contracting for the first time since 2003, demand has declined and deflation has set in, it explained.
The republic is now the fourth most expensive city to live in globally, after Zurich, Paris and Hong Kong.
Covid-19 has shuffled the rankings of the world's most expensive cities, with Zurich and Paris overtaking Singapore and Osaka in the latest «Worldwide Cost of Living» report, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) this week.
The biannual survey, which compares the prices of nearly 140 products and services in 133 cities around the world, showed how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the cost of living since the start of 2020 – largely as a result of currency volatility, supply chain problems, impact of taxes and subsidies, and shifts in consumer preferences, the report said.
Cities in the Americas, Africa and Eastern Europe became less expensive since 2019, while Western European cities have become costlier, partly the result of the rise in European currencies against the U.S. dollar.
Weak Demand
Singapore first topped EIU's list in 2014, and continued to hold the title for the next five years. Last year, it shared the top spot with Paris and Hong Kong.
EIU said prices in Singapore fell with the exodus of foreign workers in the country as the effects of the pandemic set in. With the population contracting for the first time since 2003, demand has declined and deflation has set in, it explained.
