Moscow toppled by Tokyo as world鈥檚 most expensive city

By Zhang Nan

Tokyo and Osaka are the most expensive places to live due to the appreciation of the Japanese yen.

In “The Ranking of Living Expenses in Global Cities in 2009” by Mercer Management Consulting, London dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time in a decade to 16th place due to the depreciation of pound.

As the yen has appreciated, Tokyo replaced Moscow, which was the most expensive city to live from 2006 to 2008.

Osaka jumped into the 2nd place from 6th last year.

Middle Eastern cities also climbed up the rankings due to the rise of the dirham and the US dollar. Dubai jumped from the 52nd to the 20th and Abu Dhabi rose from the 65th to the 26th.

The depreciation of currencies made living expenses decline in many European cities. “A variety of currencies, including the euro and the pound, depreciated sharply against the US dollar, which led to many European cities falling down the rankings, Mercer Management Consulting said.

Oslo, the capital of Norway, also said good-bye to the Top 10, and dropped from 4th to 14th place.

Related:

10 most expensive cities in 2009 [2008 ranking in brackets]

1. Tokyo, Japan (2)

2. Osaka, Japan (11)

3. Moscow, Russia (1)

4. Geneva, Switzerland (8)

5. Hong Kong, China (6)

6. Zürich, Switzerland (9)

7. Copenhagen, Denmark (7)

8. New York City, USA (22)

9. Beijing, China (20)

10. Singapore (13)

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