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International global movement company ECA has released its annual list of the world's most expensive cities to live in, with Hong Kong once again topping the rankings.

The company bases its classification on several factors, including the average price of basic foodstuffs, such as milk and cooking oil, rent, utilities, public transportation, and the strength of the local currency.

For the third year in a row, Hong Kong receives the dubious honor of being the most expensive city in the world according to the ECA Index. The index places special emphasis on foreign and expatriate workers in its rankings.

Asia in the lead

It can be said that Asia is the most expensive in the world, with five cities: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Seoul, in the top ten.

Tel Aviv in Israel, ranked sixth in the world, is included in the total number of the most expensive cities in the world located in the Asian continent, bringing the total number of cities to six out of 10.

Asia also claims to be the birthplace of the world's fastest growing city in the overall list, Colombo, the main capital of Sri Lanka, which moved up 23 places to 149 on the list from 162.

Li Kuan, regional director of the ECA International Global Movement Index in Asia, explained the reason for China's growing presence in the rankings.

"The majority of mainland Chinese cities in our ranking experience higher inflation than we used to see, but still lower than anywhere else in Asia," he said in a statement.

"Therefore, the main reason for its advancement in the rating is China's continued maintenance of the yuan's strength against other major currencies," he added.

Lower Cities

But, what are the cities whose rank has fallen from what it was in previous years?

The French capital, Paris, was out of competition, having topped the ECA index in the past, to be in the top thirty. The cities of Madrid, Rome and Brussels also recorded a decline.

"Almost every major city in the eurozone has seen a drop in the global rankings this year, as the euro's performance in the past 12 months has been worse compared to the US dollar and the British pound," Cowen explained.

External factors such as politics and international conflicts can also play a role. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the accompanying sanctions imposed by many countries, dropped Moscow to 62nd place, and Saint Petersburg to 147th.

The most expensive city in Europe is Geneva in Switzerland, which came in third place after Hong Kong and New York. Switzerland still uses the Swiss franc instead of the euro.

The coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over global supply chains and other economic factors.