Most expensive cities in the world 2022: this is the list

2022-06-08T04:58:53.418Z

Global mobility company ECA International released its annual list of the world's most expensive cities to live in 2022.

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(2021) 0:57

(CNN) —

Global mobility company ECA International released its annual list of the world's most expensive cities to live in, and once again, Hong Kong is at the top of the list.

The company calculates the list based on several factors, including the average price of household staples such as milk and cooking oil, rent, utilities, public transportation, and the strength of the local currency.

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This is the third year in a row that Hong Kong has claimed the dubious honor of being the world's most expensive city in the ECA index.

Asia, the most expensive continent

It's safe to say that Asia is the most expensive continent, with five cities (Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Seoul) making the top 10.

Some regulators include the Middle East in Asia.

In that case, Tel Aviv, which ranks sixth, also counts towards Asia's total and would give it six out of 10 places.

Asia also claims the honor of being home to the fastest growing city on the overall list.

That would be Colombo, Sri Lanka's main metropolis, which jumped 23 places from 162 to 149.

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Lee Quane, ECA Regional Director for Asia, explained the reason for the increasing presence of mainland China in the index.

"Most of the mainland Chinese cities in our ranking have higher inflation rates than we are used to seeing, but they are still lower than other parts of Asia," Quane said in a statement.

"Therefore, the main reason for its rise in the ranking has been the continued strength of the Chinese yuan against other major currencies."

further down the list

So which cities are ranked worse than in previous years?

Paris, which topped the ECA list in the past, dropped out of the top 30. Madrid, Rome and Brussels also fell.

"Nearly every major city in the euro zone saw a drop in ranking this year, as the euro underperformed over the last 12 months compared to the US dollar and sterling," Quane explains.

External factors such as politics and international conflicts can also play a role.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sanctions imposed by many countries meant that Moscow was ranked 62nd and St. Petersburg 147th.

New York was the only North American city to make it into the top ten.

Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

The most expensive city in Europe is Geneva, Switzerland, which ranked third after Hong Kong and New York City.

Switzerland uses the Swiss franc instead of the euro.

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The coronavirus pandemic has, of course, played a role in global supply chains and other economic factors.

Other classifications

ECA International is not the only company that ranks the world's cities based on economy.

The London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes its global cost of living index every December.

In 2021, Tel Aviv took home the prize for the most expensive place to live, with Paris and Singapore tied for second place.

Hong Kong was in fifth place, behind Zurich.

In 2020, Hong Kong, Zürich, and Paris shared the number one designation.

Both lists use the prices of everyday items like groceries and fuel to determine your ranking.

However, the EIU pegs its figures to the US dollar, so economies that do the same, like Hong Kong, for example, are more likely to rank highly.

Either way, regardless of the order in which the cities appear in the different indices, it is clear that cities in Asia, Europe and North America are much more expensive to live in than their counterparts in Africa and South America.