These Are The World’s Most Expensive Cities To Live In 2022

As the year comes to a close, we look at the world’s most expensive cities to live in in 2022. The cost of living in a city can vary greatly depending on a variety of factors, including the local economy, the housing market, and the availability of goods and services. Some cities are known for being more expensive to live in than others due to higher costs in these areas.

When it comes to determining the most and least expensive cities in the world to live in, two of the most widely cited sources are the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living Index and the Mercer Cost of Living Survey. Both of these surveys rank cities based on the cost of living, which includes factors such as housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.

The most expensive cities in the world to live in are New York and Singapore, based on the Worldwide Cost of Living Index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit for 2022. The survey reports that the average cost of living in the world's largest cities rose by 8.1% this year, with high inflation in the US being one of the reasons for New York topping the list.

The war in Ukraine and the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains were also identified as factors behind the increase. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other US cities, including Atlanta and Boston, ranked among the top 10 most expensive. The survey compares the US dollar costs of goods and services in 172 cities and includes over 400 individual prices of more than 200 products and services. The least expensive cities on the list include Colombo, Bangalore, Algiers, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Almaty, Karachi, Tashkent, Tunis, Tehran, Tripoli, and Damascus.

The world's 10 most expensive cities to live in 2022

1. New York and Singapore (tie)

3. Tel Aviv, Israel

4. Hong Kong and Los Angeles (tie)

6. Zurich, Switzerland

7. Geneva, Switzerland

8. San Francisco, California

9. Paris, France

10. Copenhagen, Denmark

The bottom 12 being the least expensive places to live are:

Damascus Syria
Tripoli Libya
Tehran Iran
Tunis Tunisia
Tashkent Uzbekistan
Karachi Pakistan
Almaty Kazakhstan
Ahmedabad India
Chennai India
Algiers Algeria
Bangalore India
Colombo Sri Lanka

Meanwhile, Hong Kong tops Mercer’s 2022 Cost of Living City Ranking, based on their latest research, followed by Zurich and Geneva, while Ankara closes the ranking at the 227th spot.

Most and least expensive cities

Mercer’s 2022 Cost of Living City Ranking

1 Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

2 Zurich, Switzerland

3 Geneva, Switzerland

4 Basel, Switzerland

5 Bern, Switzerland

6 Tel Aviv, Israel

7 New York City, NY, United States

8 Singapore, Singapore

9 Tokyo, Japan

10 Beijing, China

The least expensive cities to live in came in at:

Ankara Türkiye
Bishkek Kyrgyzstan
Dushanbe Tajikistan
Islamabad Pakistan
Karachi Pakistan
Istanbul Türkiye
Tashkent Uzbekistan
Tunis Tunisia
Almaty Kazakhstan
Algiers Algeria

Both of these surveys rank cities based on the cost of living, including factors such as housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment. They are used by companies to determine compensation for expatriate employees and to help them assess the cost of living in different cities.

The differences can be seen in 2021. According to the EIU's 2021 Index, the most expensive cities in the world to live in are

Singapore
Hong Kong
Tokyo
Seoul
Shanghai

On the other hand, the least expensive cities in the world to live in according to the 2021 Index include

Caracas (Venezuela)
Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
Tunis (Tunisia)
Almaty (Kazakhstan)
Karachi (Pakistan)

The Mercer Cost of Living Survey for 2021, on the other hand, ranked the most expensive cities in the world as

Hong Kong
Tokyo
Zurich
Singapore
Seoul

And the least expensive cities as

Tunis (Tunisia)
Karachi (Pakistan)
Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
Banjul (Gambia)
Tunis (Tunisia)

While there is some overlap in the rankings between the two surveys, there are also some notable differences. For example, Singapore and Hong Kong both rank highly on both lists, but the EIU Index has Singapore as the most expensive city while the Mercer Survey has Hong Kong in the top spot. Additionally, the EIU Index includes Shanghai and Seoul in the top 5, while they are not present on the Mercer Survey's top 5 list.

It's worth noting that both surveys have different methodologies and criteria for ranking cities, so it is not surprising that there are some differences in their rankings. The EIU Index compares the costs of over 150 items in 133 cities around the world, while the Mercer Survey includes over 200 cities in its rankings.

Ultimately, the cost of living in a city is determined by a variety of factors, including the local economy, housing market, and availability of goods and services. While both the EIU Index and the Mercer Survey offer useful insights into the relative costs of living in different cities, it is important to consider a variety of sources and factors when determining the most and least expensive cities to live in.

It is important to note that the cost of living in a city is not the same as the overall cost of living in a country. The cost of living can also vary within a single city or country, depending on factors such as the neighbourhood or area in which you live.

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