Top 21 World's Most Expensive Cities to Live in 2021

What are the World's most expensive cities in 2021? Where do Los Angeles and New York rank and any other US cities? Which city has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) cities ranking 2021? Which city ranks as the cheapest city in the world? ...

World Most Expesive Cities in 2021

Top 21 World's Most Expensive Cities to Live in 2021

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According to the Worldwide Cost of Living index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and inflation is the fastest recorded over the past five years.

Tel Aviv, Israel topped the rankings for the first time, overtaking last year's leader Paris, which is now tied in second place with Singapore.

The Syrian city of Damascus once again ranks as the cheapest city in the world, as its war-torn economy continues to struggle. Damascus and Tehran suffered from very high inflation in 2021, as did Caracas in Venezuela and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

21. Shanghai, China

World's Most Expensive Cities - Shanghai, China
Shanghai is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. Shanghai metropolitan area has a population of 24.87 million as of 2020, which is the most populous urban area in China, the largest population city in the World.

Population Metro: 24,870,895 (2020)
Nominal GDP: $608 billion (2020)
Per Capita: $24,700 (2020)

20. Frankfurt, Germany

World's Most Expensive Cities - Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its urban area has a population of 2.3 million. The city is the heart of the larger Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.5 million and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr Region.

Population Metro: 5,604,523 (2020)
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

19. Dublin, Ireland

World's Most Expensive Cities - Dublin, Ireland
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. The city of Dublin is situated on a bay on the east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey, it lies within the province of Leinster. It is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. The population of the Greater Dublin Area was 1,904,806 per the 2016 census.

Population Metro: 1,904,806 (2020)
Nominal GDP: €106 billion
Per Capita: €79,000

18. London, UK

World's Most Expensive Cities - London, UK
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. The City of London, its ancient core and financial center, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains boundaries close to its medieval ones. The region is governed by the Greater London Authority. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City, has for centuries held the national government and parliament.

Population Metro: 14,257,962 (2021)
Nominal GDP: $US$642 billion (2019)
Per Capita: $71,733 (2019)

17. Helsinki, Finland

World's Most Expensive Cities - Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Helsinki is situated on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of 656,250. The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296, and it is the second-largest urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located 80 kilometers (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities.

Population Metro: 1,526,694 (2021)
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

16. Melbourne, Australia

World's Most Expensive Cities - Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Greater Melbourne has a population of over 5 million (19% of the population of Australia, as of 2020), mostly residing to the east side of the city center, and its inhabitants are commonly referred to as "Melburnians".

Population Metro: 5,159,211 (2020)
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

15. Sydney, Australia

World's Most Expensive Cities - Sydney, Australia
Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Sydney is located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km (43.5 mi) on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south, and Macarthur to the south-west. As of June 2020, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,367,206.

Population Metro: 5,367,206 (2020)
Nominal GDP: AU$400.9 billion (2015)
Per Capita: AU$80,0002 (2015)

14. Vienna, Austria

World's Most Expensive Cities - Vienna, Austria
Vienna is the national capital, largest city, and one of nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's most populous city, with about 2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one-third of the country's population, and its cultural, economic, and political center. It is the 6th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union.

Population Metro: 2,600,000 (2020)
Nominal GDP: €100 billion (2019)
Per Capita: €52,700 (2019)

13. Tokyo, Japan

World's Most Expensive Cities - Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is the capital and most populous prefecture of Japan, as of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 14.04 million. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents in 2018. Tokyo is located at the head of Tokyo Bay, and the political and economic center of the country, as well as the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the national government.

Population Metro: 37,468,000 (2018)
Nominal GDP: $1.0 trillion (2018)
Per Capita: $70,000 (2018)

12. Seoul, South Korea

World's Most Expensive Cities - Seoul, South Korea
Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. Seoul has a population of 9.7 million people. Seoul was the world's 4th largest metropolitan economy in 2014 after Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. In 2015, it was rated Asia's most livable city with the second-highest quality of life globally by Arcadis, with the GDP per capita (PPP) in Seoul being around $40,000. In 2017, the cost of living in Seoul was ranked the 6th highest globally. In 2020, Seoul's real estate market was ranked 3rd in the world for the price of apartments in the downtown center. Seoul was one of the host cities for the official tournament of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.

Population Metro: 9,765,869 (2021)
Nominal GDP: $384 billion
Per Capita: $39,558

11. Oslo, Norway

World's Most Expensive Cities - Oslo, Norway
Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. As of 30 September 2021, the municipality of Oslo had a population of 698,660, while the population of the city's greater urban area was 1,019,513, as of 4 November 2019. The Oslo metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.71 million.

Population Metro: 1,588,457 (2021)
Nominal GDP: €23 billion (2016)
Per Capita: €96,000 (2016)

10. Osaka, Japan

World's Most Expensive Cities - Osaka, Japan
Osaka is the capital and the most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Tokyo and Yokohama. Osaka has a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan, and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants.

Population Metro: 19,303,000 (2019)
Nominal GDP: $681 billion (2015)
Per Capita: $59,958

9. Los Angeles, California - US

World's Most Expensive Cities - Los Angeles, California - US
Los Angeles is the largest city in California. With a 2020 population of 3,898,747, LA is the second-largest city in the United States. Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, Hollywood entertainment industry, and sprawling metropolitan area.

Population Metro: 13,200,998 (2020)
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

8. Copenhagen, Denmark

World's Most Expensive Cities - Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has a population of 799,033 and a metropolitan area of a population of 2,057,142. Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another portion of the city is located on Amager, and it is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

Population Metro: 2,057,142
Nominal GDP: €120 billion
Per Capita:

7. Geneva, Switzerland

World's Most Expensive Cities - Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Geneva is located where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, which is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

Population Metro: 201,818 (2019)
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

6. New York City, New York - US

World's Most Expensive Cities - New York City, New York - US
New York City is the most populous city in the United States with a 2020 population of 8,804,190. New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the US. With its metropolitan statistical area and 23,582,649 in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports, and is the most photographed city in the world.

Population Metro: 23,582,649 (2020)
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

5. Hong Kong

World's Most Expensive Cities - Hong Kong
Hong Kong is located on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China and a special administrative region of China. With over 7.5 million residents of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Hong Kong is also one of the most developed cities in the world, with the most expensive housing.

Population Metro: 7,500,700
Nominal GDP: $368.633 billion (2021)
Per Capita: $49,036

4. Zurich, Switzerland

World's Most Expensive Cities - Zurich, Switzerland
Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. Zürich is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. Zurich municipality has 434,335 inhabitants, the urban area (agglomeration) 1.315 million (2009), and the Zürich metropolitan area 1.83 million (2011).

Population Metro: 1.315 million
Nominal GDP:
Per Capita:

3. Singapore

World's Most Expensive Cities - Singapore
Singapore is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. Singapore is located off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Straits of Malacca to the west, the Riau Islands (Indonesia) to the south, and the South China Sea to the east. Singapore has the second greatest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognizing the need to respect cultural identities, Singapore has four official languages; English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca.

Population Metro: 5,453,600
Nominal GDP: $600.063 billion (2020)
Per Capita: $102,742

2. Paris, France

World's Most Expensive Cities - Paris, France
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,175,601 residents as of 2018. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centers of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, science, and arts. The City of Paris is the center and seat of government of the region and province of Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an estimated population of 12,174,880, or about 18 percent of the population of France as of 2017.

Population Metro: 13,024,518
Nominal GDP: $850 billion (2020)
Per Capita: $70,000

1. Tel Aviv, Israel

World's Most Expensive Cities - Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel Aviv is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Tel Aviv-Yafo is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 460,613, it is the economic and technological center of the country.

Population Metro: 3,854,000
Nominal GDP: $153.3 billion (2020)
Per Capita: $42,614

Source: youtube.com/c/WorldGuide
Author: Arif Cagrici
Music: Solstice (Hyve)

Author: Arif Cagrici