Singapore was named the most expensive city in the world for life

News24xx.com - Singapore was named the most expensive city in the world for life for the fifth consecutive year.

The city-state outstripped New York, London and Los Angeles, which did not even make it into the top ten most expensive places in the study of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living 2018.

The annual EIU rating compares the prices of over 150 items in 133 cities around the world, such as bread, wine, cigarettes and petrol. It is designed to help hiring managers calculate fair wages when moving their employees abroad.

Singapore's top ranking is reflective of a regional trend, with the costs of living picking up across parts of Asia as their economies expand. The Southeast Asian financial centre was joined in the top 10 by Seoul, which ranked in seventh position, as well as Hong Kong and Sydney.

However, some of the world's cheapest cities are still in Asia, such as India and Pakistan. Europe, too, is still expensive - Paris, Zurich, Oslo, Geneva and Copenhagen appeared in the top 10. The only city outside of Asia or Europe that entered the top 10 was Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, the weakening of the US dollar in 2017 caused New York and Los Angeles to slip to the 13th and 14th positions, respectively. Bangalore, Chennai, Karachi and New Delhi, all featured the top ten cheapest places this year.

They were joined by Damascus, Karakus, Almaty, Lagos, Algeria and Bucharest.