Singapore is the most expensive city in the world to live in, according to latest Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey shows a resurgence of cities from Asia.

Singapore stayed on top and Hong Kong remains in second, closely followed by Zurich.

However, Tokyo and Osaka are now in the top 10.

The Japanese capital, which was the world’s most expensive city until 2012, has moved seven places up the ranking mainly due to a sustained recovery in the strength of the Japanese yen.

New York City is the lone North American representative in the top 10.

Despite topping the rankings, Singapore still offers relative value in some areas.

For categories such as personal care, household goods and domestic help Singapore remains significantly cheaper than its peers.

However, it remains the most expensive place in the world to buy and run a car, as well as the second-priciest destination in which to buy clothes.

In terms of food and drink, the cost of living in Singapore is on a par with that of Shanghai in China.

Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka are the three most expensive places in the world to buy staple goods. In Seoul, filling a grocery basket is almost 50% more expensive than in New York.

Here are the ten most expensive cities:

While Asia is home to some of the world’s most expensive cities, it also has many of the cheapest.

Bangalore, Chennai, Karachi, Mumbai and New Delhi make up half of the ten cheapest cities surveyed.

But cheap doesn’t always mean cheerful. Cheaper cities tend also to be less liveable.

An increasing number of locations are becoming cheaper because of the impact of political or economic disruption.

“Although the Indian subcontinent remains structurally cheap, instability is becoming an increasingly prominent factor in lowering the relative cost of living of a location,” says the EIU.

“This means that there is a considerable element of risk in some of the world’s cheapest cities.

“Karachi, Algiers, Kiev and Lagos have faced well-documented economic, political, security and infrastructural challenges.”

And here are the 10 cheapest cities to live in:

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