However, a stronger currency does not raise the cost of living of Singaporeans who earn their income in Singapore dollars. Singapore’s strong exchange rate thus contributed to its higher ranking compared to other cities with weaker exchange rates. The WCOL survey converts the prices of goods and services in the cities surveyed to US dollars to facilitate comparisons across cities. Second, the rankings are sensitive to currency fluctuations. More information on the CPI can be found in the Singapore Department of Statistics’ website here. A more representative indicator of cost of living in Singapore is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the average change in the prices of a basket of goods and services commonly purchased by Singaporean households. For instance, its consumption basket includes products such as Burberry-type raincoats and foreign daily newspapers – these are typically not purchased by Singaporean households. As such, its consumption basket may not reflect what Singaporeans usually consume and is therefore not a good gauge of cost of living for Singaporean households. The WCOL survey looks at the prices of a common set of products and services in the various cities to allow for city-to-city comparisons. Hence, it may not reflect the cost of living for Singaporeans.įirst, the WCOL survey’s consumption basket does not reflect what Singaporeans usually consume.
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) survey is designed to help human resource managers around the world calculate cost of living allowances for expatriates and business travellers. Singapore was ranked the most expensive city in the world, together with New York, by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) 2022 survey.
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