Despite historically high rates of inflation, Hong Kong has lost its status as the world’s most expensive city. Hong Kong is falling one place and is thereby surpassed by New York. This is according to the latest rankings by ECA International.
The shift marks the end of Hong Kong’s four-year stay at the top as accommodation costs continues to fall.
“Costs for goods and services in Hong Kong rose, showing that the city was not spared from the wave of inflation we have seen in the past year,” says Lee Quane, regional director, Asia, at ECA International.
“In spite of this, Hong Kong fell in our rankings. The increase in prices of day-to-day goods and services was moderated by falls in accommodation costs,” he added.
Asian highlights
Hong Kong’s fall to second place was matched by nearly all major locations in the region. Singapore, Seoul and Yangon were the only exceptions.
Singapore has climbed eight places to become the fifth most costly location globally. The Southeast Asian financial hub’s rise was due largely to major increases in accommodation costs.
Chinese cities have fallen in the rankings due to the impact of a weaker yuan and lower rates of inflation. Shanghai and Guangzhou have fallen out of the global top 10. The cities are now ranked as the 13th and 14th most expensive cities in the world.
What about Scandinavia?
Only Scandinavian city in top 20 is Copenhagen, that ranked as 18th most expensive city for expats in 2023.
Norwegian and Swedish cities plummeted in the rankings by an average of 10 places as their currencies weakened.
ECA International analyzes the cost of consumer goods and services, while factoring in rental costs in areas typically inhabited by expats, to rank 207 cities in 120 countries and territories around the world.
Source: theasset.com
