According to global mobility company ECA International, two European cities are ranked as the most expensive places to live. More specifically, Geneva and Zurich are ranked as the third and seventh most expensive cities in the world, respectively, in the annual report released by the company, which lists the sustainability of oil, rents, utilities, public transport and local currencies based on the average prices of household necessities such as milk and cooking.
London is ranked as the fourth most expensive city after Geneva, and the most expensive city is Hong Kong. The cities with the highest cost of living in the world in 2022 are Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, London, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Zurich, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Seoul. While the most expensive continent is Asia, with five cities — Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Seoul — making the difference, some cities in Europe are in the opposite direction, ranking below a year ago.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a key factor in the matter, as the sanctions imposed by Russia dropped Moscow and St. Petersburg to 62 and 147, respectively. Lee Quane, ECA Regional Director for Asia, said: "In our rankings, inflation in most Chinese mainland cities is higher than what we have seen in the past, but they are generally still lower than the rest of Asia.
Data from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows that while Tel Aviv is the most expensive place to live in 2021, Paris and Singapore are in second place. Hong Kong, which topped the list this year, ranked fifth in 2021. In 2020, Hong Kong, Zurich and Paris were all ranked as the most expensive places to live.