Ranked 12th in Terms of Living Expenses
Seoul’s living expenses were the 12th-highest among major cities in the world. Seoul eclipsed Tokyo (13th), Finland’s Helsinki, and Britain’s London (17th) in living expenses.
Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, is the most expensive city to live in, according to the World Cost of Living (WCOL) Rankings compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and released on Dec. 1.
Living expenses in Tel Aviv, which was ranked fifth in 2020, soared due to the strength of the national currency against the US dollar and a 10 percent increase in the prices of 200 major product groups. Transportation and logistics costs, which rose due to soaring oil prices, fueled the increase in commodity prices.
Paris, which took the top spot together with Hong Kong and Zurich last year, fell to second place. Singapore shared second place with the French capital.
Paris was followed by Zurich (4th), New York (6th), Geneva (7th), Copenhagen (8th), and Los Angeles (9th).
Apart from Singapore, large Asian cities ranked high. They included Hong Kong (5th), Osaka (10th), Seoul (12th), and Tokyo (13th).
The EIU compares the prices of goods and services in 173 cities around the world every year to determine the rankings of expensive cities. However, this survey does not count housing cost.