World’s Most Expensive City 2013: Singapore Tops Tokyo As Costliest Place To Live On Earth; Strong Currency, High Cost Of Car Ownership & Utility Bills Key Factors For Label

World’s most expensive city 2013: Singapore is the most expensive place to live on earth, according to a 2014 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, which presumably took in factors from the year 2013.

The city-state’s new label has been due to its strong currency, the high cost of owning a car in the country, and the price to pay for utilities. Together with Singapore, the survey noted that Paris, Oslo, Zurich, Sydney, Caracas, Geneva, Melbourne, Tokyo and Copenhagen as some of the most expensive cities to reside.

Ten years ago, Singapore was ranked number 18, but it has steadily crept up the rankings. It dethroned Tokyo which has suffered from a natural calamity and several economic hiccups. The EIU has also noted that Singapore is the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes, thanks to an influx of luxury brands and expensive shopping malls and boutiques.

According to CNBC, the EIU’s cost of living survey is a relocation tool that uses New York, the 26th most expensive city in the world, as a base. The survey to determine the most expensive cities to live in compares prices on a range of goods and services including food, drink, clothing, rent and utility bills across 131 cities.

The news site noted that a high cost of living has become a hot button issue in the wealthy Southeast Asian country. Singapore has one of the biggest wealth disparities in the developed world in terms of its Gini coefficient.

It’s important to note that both the most expensive city in the world to live in and the cheapest can be found in Asia. Based on the rankings, Mumbai, India’s financial center as well as Karachi and New Delhi, were the top three least expensive cities in the world.