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Asia-Pacific – Cost of Living

Tokyo is the first and Hong Kong the second most expensive place in the world (and the most expensive in China). Tokyo is the most expensive city in Asia-Pacific. Tokyo is comparatively cheap for alcohol and tobacco, yet it is the most expensive place in the world for groceries and health care, second only to Hong Kong for housing-related expenses. The Japanese yen has strengthened by about 18% against the US dollar in the past two years.

Sydney is the third most expensive city in Asia-Pacific (13th in the world). The Australian economy has seen stable growth compared to many ailing economies, while the Australian dollar has strengthened 11% against the US dollar and 24% against the euro in the last year.

Mainland Chinese cities remain relatively cheap, mainly due to the peg of the Chinese yuan to the US dollar, which has kept costs low. Within mainland China, Beijing (ranked 100th in the world) is the 20th most expensive city in Asia-Pacific, followed by Shanghai (ranked 107th in the world) and Wuhan (ranked 200th in the world). The cheapest city surveyed in China is Tianjin (ranked 256th in the world) with a cost of living index of 64.07 (New York = 100).

The cheapest city in Asia-Pacific is Dushanbe in Tajikistan (ranked 279 in the world) with a cost of living index of 56.64 (New York = 100).

Most expensive cities in Asia-Pacific (global ranking in parentheses)

1. Japan, Tokyo (1)

2. China, Hong Kong (2)

3. Australia, Sydney (13)

4. Australia, Canberra (17)

5. Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby (23)

6. Vanuatu, Port Vila (26)

7. New Caledonia, Noumea (31)

8. Republic of Korea, Seoul (32)

9. Australia, Melbourne (37)

10. Australia, Perth (38)