Are you living in one of the world's most expensive cities? Find out here

Hong Kong has yet again topped the list as it did last year and remains the most expensive city to live in the whole world. 

Lee Quane, Regional Director of Asia at ECA International said, “Although Hong Kong has been impacted by rising global inflation less than other regional and global locations in the past year, it nonetheless remains the most expensive location in the world”.

New York, this year comes second in the ranking.

It has risen from fourth place in 2021 to second place this year, amid rising inflation over the past year.

It is the only North American city to be placed in the top ten. However, another North American city, San Francisco has taken up the eleventh position.

Geneva has been ranked third this year. 

Most locations within the EU have seen drops in the rankings after an unsteady period for the euro, with Paris falling out of the global top 30.

However, Geneva has maintained last year's position. 

As per Quane, “Nearly every major Eurozone city saw a drop in the rankings this year as the euro performed worse in the last 12 months than the US dollar and British pound. The euro’s weakness was mainly caused by market expectations of the ECB raising interest rates more slowly than its peers”.

Moving up one position, London has acquired the fourth position in the list.

There has been a 20 per cent increase in rent. Food prices have also risen up due to the shortage created by the war in Ukraine; sunflower and palm oil costs witnessed a 4 per cent rise. Petrol prices too have seen a 23 per cent rise in London. 

Tokyo is placed in the fifth position this year. 

The city has dropped three places to fifth in the global rankings, while other Japanese cities featured in the rankings have also dropped.

Japanese locations have all dropped in the latest rankings as the yen weakened due to unexpectedly higher inflation, alongside negative interest rates. 

It is no surprise that Tel Aviv, known for its remarkably high cost of living, was marked sixth on the 2022 ECA list, after coming in seventh place last year.

Even, Israel's capital of Jerusalem has joined Tel Aviv on the list. 

In mentioning Tel Aviv ECA writes, "The Middle Eastern tech hub, Tel Aviv, climbs one place in the ranking. Its thriving tech scene, which was turbocharged by the pandemic and the shift towards remote work, became an attractive hotspot for many multinational corporations, drawing in a significant amount of foreign investment. The growth in exports, including of natural gas, and better relations with its neighbors has also contributed to the Israeli shekel appreciating against the US dollar - making it one of the strongest global currencies in the last 10 years, and making Israel increasingly one of the most expensive locations in the world for expats."

Zurich is another city from Switzerland after Geneva to be in the top 10. It has secured the seventh position this year.

However, it has dropped one position from last year, the reason remains the same: the Euro's unsteadiness.

Shanghai jumped from the 9th position to the 8th this year. 

Quane said, “The majority of the mainland Chinese cities in our rankings have higher rates of inflation than we are used to seeing, but they are still typically lower than elsewhere in Asia. Therefore, the main reason for their rise in the rankings has been the continued strength of the Chinese yuan against other major currencies, due to China’s relatively strong economic performance during the survey period which makes these cities more expensive relative to other locations”.

Guangzhou is another Chinese city to be in the top 10, just after Shanghai.

A stronger yuan had helped them. Even during the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid period, the yuan maintained a stronger position against other major currencies, at the time of the survey. 

South Korean capital Seoul has acquired the 10th position this year and is the only South Korean city in the top 10. 

Many locations in Asia have witnessed above-trend rates in inflation in the past 12 months, according to ECA and Seoul is one of them. 

Asian cities accounted for half of this year's top 10 most expensive cities for expatriates.