Singapore rises four places to 31st globally in cost of living report
A new ranking on relative cost of living between cities around the world names Singapore as number nine in the Asia-Pacific region and number 31 worldwide.
According to consulting firm ECA International, Singapore is now in a position that remains above Australia but below Hong Kong and Japan.
Ahead of it are Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing and Nagoya, all of which take the top five spots in the Asia-Pacific region. The two Chinese cities surged to 18th and 20th-most expensive globally from barely entering the top 50 five years ago, while Tokyo and Seoul hold 11th and 16th positions on the list.
While other countries in Asia saw prices in their basket of goods and services for expatriates rise by nearly 6 per cent on average, those in Singapore increased by about 2.3 per cent over the past year — a factor contributing to its relatively low ranking, said ECA in a press release on the survey on Tuesday.
“However, cost of living for relocated employees will also be affected by the currency that is used to pay their salaries, and exchange rate fluctuations will often have a bigger impact on an international assignee’s purchasing power than inflation,” said ECA’s regional director for Asia Lee Quane.
“Despite Singapore’s rise in the global ranking, companies sending talent to Singapore from parts of the world where the currency has strengthened against the dollar, such as Europe or the (US), will be able to continue to maintain their assignee’s spending power with a lower cost-of-living allowance,” he added.
Meanwhile, the world’s costliest city spot is occupied by Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, where annual inflation is over 80 per cent and the cost of living there is now 40 per cent higher than Norway’s Oslo, which dropped to number two. At number three is Luanda, a city in Angola, which is affected by high costs in importing and transporting international goods into it. Taking the global fourth and fifth positions respectively are Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland.
The list, put together by commercial research firm ECA International, pits the cost of a basket of day-to-day goods between countries to calculate estimated cost of living allowances for expatriates working there. These items include groceries, drinks, tobacco, services, clothing, electrical goods, motoring and meals out. Living costs like accommodation, utilities, car purchases and school fees are excluded from it.
