Three-way tie for ‘most expensive city’

In a first for the unaffordability sweepstakes, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong have tied as 2019’s most expensive cities to live in.

The annual list, compiled by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit and published as the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, compares the cost of goods and services such as food, transport and rent in 133 cities around the world.

The list also has some surprises: London, often thought of as one of the most expensive, actually clocks in at #22, while Dublin sits at #19. Here are the Top Ten:

1. Singapore, Paris, Hong Kong (tie)
4. Zurich, Switzerland
5. Geneva, Switzerland, Osaka, Japan (tie)
7. Seoul, South Korea, Copenhagen, New York (tie)
10. Tel Aviv, Los Angeles (tie)

At the cheap digs end of the list, there are fewer surprises than warning signs, with two of the world’s current turmoil leaders at the top of the list.

1. Caracas
2. Damascus
3. Tashkent, Uzbekistan
4. Almaty, Kazakhstan
5. Bangalore, India
6. Karachi, Pakistan and Lagos, Nigeria (tie)
8. Buenos Aires and Chennai, India (tie)
10. New Delhi