Singapore tops Southeast Asia for cost of living, 14th globally, report finds

SINGAPORE: According to the latest global cost-of-living index from Numbeo, Singapore is the 14th most expensive city around the world. In Asia, it ranks second only to Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, and in Southeast Asia, it takes the top spot.

Numbeo’s index takes into consideration rent, groceries, restaurant prices, and local purchasing power in cities around the world.

Interestingly, cities in Switzerland take up the top six spots. Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, and Bern, respectively, are number one to six on the index. New York (USA) takes seventh place, followed by Reykjavik (Iceland), Honolulu (USA), and San Francisco (USA) in eighth to 10th places.

Cost of living in Singapore

The index says that a family of four spends approximately S$5,430 each month for living costs, without rent. As for a single person, they should expect to spend around S$1,482, also without factoring rent in.

As for rent, Numbeo’s data shows that a one-bedroom flat in the city centre costs S$3,606.45, while one outside the city centre costs S$2,736.21 per month. Rental costs in space-scarce Singapore are among the highest in the world, but are still lower than in cities such as New York.

For comparison’s sake, the cost of living in Singapore is more than 30 per cent higher than the average in the United States, though it is still more than 10 per cent lower than in New York.

Interestingly, Singapore’s numbers are generally high on Numbeo’s index except when it comes to the restaurant price index. It says that a meal at an inexpensive restaurant costs an average of S$12.42. Meanwhile, in New York, it costs US$25 (S$31.60), and in Zurich, which is number one on the index, it costs Fr25 (S$31.15).

Number 1 in Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, Phuket and Bangkok take the second and third places, respectively, on the index, followed by Makati in the Philippines in fourth place, and Phnom Penh in Cambodia in fifth.

How much more expensive is the Little Red Dot compared to other expensive cities in the region? Well, let’s take a look at living costs for a family of four.

Phuket— ฿82,671.30 (S$3,350.10)

Bangkok— ฿78,870.40 (S$3196.72)

Makati—₱114,877.50 (S$3192.58)

Phnom Penh— US$2,310.70 (S$2918.64)

Another Switzerland?

Becoming another Switzerland has long been the aspiration of Singapore, especially in the early days of the city-state’s independence. Like Singapore, Switzerland is small and does not have abundant resources, is surrounded by bigger nations, is multilingual and multiethnic.

On the other hand, it is also a prominent finance hub, politically stable, and is one of the richest countries in the world. Therefore, little wonder that its success inspired Singapore’s first leaders.

Today, however, Switzerland’s living costs might possibly cause a change of mind.

Here are the average monthly living costs for a family of four for the three Swiss cities at the top of the index:

Zurich —  CHF5,400.30 (S$8889.35)

Geneva — CHF5,303.4 (S$8730.38)

Basel — CHF5,224.6 (S$8601.29) /TISG

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