SINGAPORE, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Singapore now ranks the sixth most expensive city to live in among all cities in the world, up 3 places compared with the previous ranking, a survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit showed on Monday.
The top five cities are Japan's Tokyo, Osaka, Australia's Sydney, Norway's Oslo and Australia's Melbourne, almost all cities in Asian countries or Australia.
The survey said "one of the features of the cost-of-living ranking over the last few years has been the rise of many Asian cities offsetting traditionally more costly European locations."
Australian cities ranks high mainly due to its inflation and currency swings to make them more costly, the survey added.
According to the survey, there are now 11 Asian cities and eight European cities among the world's 20 most expensive cities, while a decade ago "this was six Asian vs 10 European cities, with four cities from the U.S."
Singapore's Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in 2012 registered at 4.6 percent, while at the same time its currency also saw appreciation last year, which together make the city- state more expansive to live in.
Local media Channel NewsAsia said China's cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen have seen the cost of living continue to rise, due to the wage inflation, increasing demand for consumer goods and strict currency controls.
In contrast, Pakistan's Karachi was at the bottom of the list and ranked as the cheapest city among the 131 cities surveyed.
The survey, carried out twice annually and for more than 30 years, collects over 400 individual prices across 160 products and services.
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