Revealed: the 10 most expensive cities in the world

Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong have jointly topped a ranking of the world's most expensive cities, according to an annual survey.

The Annual Economist Intelligence Survey, which has been running for 37 years, compares the cost of common items, like bread, throughout 133 cities globally.

These prices are then tracked to see if the cost is higher or lower compared to New York, which is used as a benchmark.

Four European cities were in the top 10 this year - the first survey where three separate cities have shared the lead.

Top 10 most expensive cities

1. Paris, France
1. Singapore
1. Hong Kong, China
4. Zurich, Switzerland
5. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Osaka, Japan
7. Seoul. South Korea
7. Copenhagen Denmark
7. New York, US
10. Tel Aviv, Israel
10. Los Angeles, US

Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland, Paris in France and Copenhagen in Denmark were all placed in the rankings.

London was not included in the survey's top 10.

Report author Roxana Slavcheva said: “Paris had been in the top 10 most expensive cities since 2003.

"Only alcohol, transport and tobacco offer value for money compared with other European cities," she said.

Another point of comparison in the survey was the average cost of a woman's haircut: $119.04 (£90) in Paris, compared with $73.97 in Zurich and $53.46 in Japanese city Osaka.

She said "European cities tend to have the highest costs in the household, personal care, recreation and entertainment categories - with Paris being a good representative in these categories - perhaps reflecting a greater premium on discretionary spending,"

“When looking at the most expensive cities by category, Asian cities tend to be the priciest locations for general grocery shopping,” she added.

Common items were cheapest to buy in Damascus in Syria, Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Caracas in Venezuela.

Ms Slavchenka explained that economic turmoil, currency weakness or falling local prices lead to cities tumbling down the list.

She said: “Currency fluctuations continue to be a major cause for changes in the ranking.

“Unsurprisingly, it is Caracas in Venezuela which claims the title of the least expensive city in the world.”

However, according to a report by Employment Conditions Abroad International, London is the fourth most expensive city in the world for expats.

The report compared the cost of living for expats and people re-locating for work in 279 cities around the world.

London's monthly rent of £5,187 topped the table of rental prices in Europe, after the report looked at the average cost per month of a three-bedroom home in areas popular with expats.