Consecutively for the 4th time, Singapore is ranked the most expensive city in the world for 2017. At an index of 120, Singapore is 20% more expensive than New York city, which has an index of 100. The survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, surveyed more than 50,000 prices of over 160 items in each city.
You may download EIU’s report here.
However, Singapore’s ranking is likely to worsen further considering the new tax increases in parking fees, gas prices, electricity prices and most notably a 30% increase in water price. The public transport fare will also likely be increased after the Transport Minister issued a caution telling Singaporeans to be “more understanding”.
There has not been an international survey of the local’s purchasing power in Singapore. Although Singapore has a GDP per capita of over S$110,000 a year, over 90% of its population do not earn this amount. The drastic income gap, with a gini coefficient of 0.463, distorted the actual wealth of Singaporeans.
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