Tokyo and Osaka have topped an index of the world’s most expensive cities to live in for 2013, familiar positions for the Japanese megacities which have traditionally dominated the list prepared bi-annually by The Economist.
Released earlier this week, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living report put the Japanese capital at the top of the index after comparing more than 400 prices across 160 products and service such as food, clothing, household supplies, rent, utility and recreational costs.
Results are compared to the base city of New York.
Since 1992, with the exception of six years, Tokyo has been the world’s most expensive city to live in, toppled only by Zurich, Paris and Oslo.
Rounding out the top five most expensive cities for 2013 are Osaka, Sydney, Oslo and Melbourne.
Asian cities dominate the index, with 11 of the world’s priciest cities coming from the east, and eight coming from Europe.
Tokyo’s inauspicious reign on the list, meanwhile, comes despite a fall in the relative cost of living in Tokyo that comes with Japanese deflation, a weaker yen and rising prices elsewhere in the world, the report says.
Notably, Australian cities have also risen quickly through the ranks due economic growth, ensuing inflation and currency swings, making them more costly to live in.
No city from North America featured in the top 20 list.
Here’s The Economist’s 10 most expensive cities to live in for 2013:
1. Tokyo, Japan
2. Osaka, Japan
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Oslo, Norway
5. Melbourne, Australia
6. Singapore, Singapore
7. Zurich, Switzerland
8. Paris, France
9. Caracas, Venezuela
10. Geneva, Switzerland