Asia-Pacific has the top 2, most expensive cities in the world, as at 1 July 2010. Tokyo is first and Hong Kong the second most expensive location in the world (and most expensive in greater China), whilst Sydney is the third most expensive city in Asia-Pacific (ranked 13 in the world). The Australian economy has seen stable growth compared to many weakening economies, while the Australian Dollar has strengthened 11% against the United States Dollar, and by 24% against the Euro in the past year. Cities in mainland China remain relatively cheap, mainly due to the pegging of the Chinese Yuan to the US Dollar which has kept costs down. Within mainland China, Beijing (ranked 100 in the world) is the twentieth most expensive city in Asia-Pacific, followed by Shanghai (ranked 107 in the world), and Wuhan (ranked 200 in the world). The cheapest city surveyed in China is Tianjin (ranked 256 in the world) with a cost of living index of 64.07 (New York = 100). The cheapest city in Asia-Pacific is Dushanbe in Tajikistan (ranked 279 in the world) with a cost of living index of 56.64 (New York = 100).
Most expensive cities in Asia-Pacific (Global rank in brackets)
1. Japan, Tokyo (1)
2. China, Hong Kong (2)
3. Australia, Sydney (13)
4. Australia, Canberra (17)
5. Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby (23)
6. Vanuatu, Port Vila (26)
7. New Caledonia, Noumea (31)
8. Korea Republic of, Seoul (32)
9. Australia, Melbourne (37)
10. Australia, Perth (38)
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