Asia Pacific Cost of Living Rankings

SINGAPORE STRUGGLES AS ASIA’S NEW MOST EXPENSIVE CITY

According to new rankings released Singapore has risen to the top spot in the list of the most expensive cities in the Asia-Pacific region for foreign workers. Singapore leaped past previous list leader, Hong Kong and the long time most expensive city in the World, Tokyo.

It has been a steady run for Singapore, which first cracked the top 20 most expensive cities in 2010. Steadily rising costs have been fueled by an influx of foreign workers. Expat workers, lured by high paying jobs at one of the more than 7,000 multinational companies located in Singapore, have until now enjoyed a relatively high standard of living.

Recent increases in the cost of education, transportation and housing are threatening that standard of living and many economists predict pressure for increased wages will push costs even higher. While some expat workers have started to look for greener pastures the overall trend has seen their numbers increasing. The total percentage of foreign workers has risen from 25% of the population in 2000 to 38% of the population in 2013.

The Xpatulator.com global list of most expensive cities, ranks Singapore 4th overall. Topping the list are third world oil producing centers, Luanda, Angola and Caracas, Venezuela, where scarce housing and reliance on equally scarce imported goods drives the cost of living sky high.

Singapore fortunately, has more in common with 3rd ranked Oslo, Norway. Both cities enjoy low unemployment, relatively high wages, and an overall high standard of living.

Xpatulator.com provides up-to-date cost of living data for over 700 locations worldwide.

Top Ten City Rankings for Asia Pacific

While on international assignments ensure that you or your employee's spending power is not compromised by changes in inflation, the availability of goods as well as exchange rates. Multinational companies will often include a cost of living allowance in their pay packages to ensure that employee's remuneration packages are not compromised by changes in the relative cost of living.

Reference: The cost of living ranking information contained in this article is updated quarterly using data collected by Xpatulator.com over the past 12 months. The international cost of living indexes, on which the rankings are based, is only available using Xpatulator.com's online expatriate calculators that enable users to create personalized cost of living comparison reports which include:

All 780 Location Rankings as at 1 April 2014

Published by Xpatulator.com on 1 April 2014

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