London cost of living rises but quality decays: Singapore ranked world’s most expensive city
London has become the world’s 11th most expensive city after jumping four places in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest survey. However, a separate report ranked the capital just 40th in terms of quality of living.
The bi-annual World Cost of Living report, released yesterday, shows that London is now as expensive as Tokyo, Frankfurt and Helsinki, with all four in joint 11th place.
The rankings are based on 50,000 individual prices (more than 160 in each city) collected from supermarkets and mid-price stores across 140 cities.
A 750ml bottle of table wine, for example, now costs an average of $13.84 (£9.00) in London compared with $13.14 a year ago while the cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes has risen to $14.92, from $12.90 in 2014.
Singapore retained its top spot as the world’s costliest city, as did the other top four: Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.
The stability at the top contrasts with huge fluctuations further down in the ranking where countries have been hit by weak exchange rates. Caracas in Venezuela, for example, fell 124 places from sixth last year.
Meanwhile, a separate report, by Mercer, named London the 40th best city in the world for quality of life, down two places from last year, after factors such as traffic congestion and air pollution stopped it from earning a higher spot in the league table.
Vienna was judged to offer the best quality of life followed by Zurich, Auckland, and Munich, which were all considered to offer the most fulfilling environment for employers and staff.