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Singapore remains most expensive city, Zurich shares top spot

Singapore remains most expensive city, Zurich shares top spot
Singapore | Photo by Tranmautritam: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-pulling-luggage-bag-while-walking-toward-building-119775/

Sure, here is a paraphrase of the text: Singapore has retained its position as the most expensive city in the world, sharing the top spot with Zurich this year. This marks the ninth time in eleven years that Singapore has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living survey. Zurich, on the other hand, climbed from sixth place last year to secure the top spot alongside Singapore.

New York, which shared the top spot with Singapore last year, dropped to third place this year, sharing the position with Geneva. The EIU's twice-yearly survey, conducted from August 14 to September 11, 2023, compared over 400 individual prices across more than 200 products and services in 173 cities.

Singapore's high cost of living is attributed to expensive groceries, alcohol, clothing, and car ownership. Zurich's rise to the top spot is due to a strong currency and high prices for household items and recreational activities.

EIU analyst Syetarn Hansakul explained that Singapore, like Hong Kong, is a small city-state with a successful financial center, which drives up demand and subsequently prices. The survey also highlights that many cities are experiencing rising prices due to high inflation. Inflation rates have increased by 7.4% year-on-year, still higher than the trend from 2017 to 2021.

Hansakul noted that inflation in Asia is relatively lower than in other parts of the world, explaining why only two Asian cities are among the top ten most expensive. EIU expects inflation to continue to decelerate in 2024, but warns that further escalation in the Israel-Hamas war could drive up energy prices, and stronger-than-expected El Niño conditions could push food prices even higher.

The EIU's list also includes the biggest decliners, with Chinese and Japanese cities dropping due to the weakening Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. The top ten most expensive cities in the EIU's list include two Asian cities, four European cities, and three U.S. cities:

  1. Singapore (tie)
  2. Zurich (tie)
  3. Geneva (tie)
  4. New York (tie) 
  5. Hong Kong
  6. Los Angeles
  7. Paris
  8. Copenhagen, Denmark (tie)
  9. Tel Aviv (tie)
  10. San Francisco
Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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