Tokyo drops from 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World List

Tokyo dropped from the world's 10 most expensive cities for expatriates in 2007 as a decline in the yen and low inflation reduced the relative cost of living, a human resources organization said.

Tokyo, the world's biggest city, slipped from 10th to 13th in the survey by ECA International, which measures the cost of food, basic items including drink and tobacco, and other costs such as clothing and electrical goods.

Seoul remains Asia's most expensive city, moving to 7th from 8th in the global rankings. Taipei fell six places to 94th in the world, or 6th in Asia, the survey said.

Hong Kong remained the 5th most expensive city to live in Asia, while Singapore rose 10 places to 122nd globally and ninth in the region, because of a stronger Singapore dollar.

Rapid economic growth has pushed up the cost of goods and services in India and China, the survey said. China's most expensive city, Beijing, rose 13 places to 95th in the global ranking because of a gain in the yuan and higher food costs, while Mumbai gained 14 spots to 177th place. The two cities rank seventh and 24th respectively in Asia.

World's 10 Most Expensive Cities, in order:
City                Country                  Prev.
Luanda              Angola                   2
Oslo                Norway                   3
Moscow              Russia                   4
Stavanger           Norway                   6
Copenhagen          Denmark                  7
Kinshasa            Congo Democratic Rep.    5
Seoul               Korea Republic           8
Libreville          Gabon                    9
Geneva              Switzerland              11
London              U.K.                     17

Harare, Zimbabwe, was the world's most expensive city in 2006.

Source [Bloomberg]