World's most expensive cities ranked

Tokyo tops the list once more

The Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka have once again been named as the most expensive cities in the world, according to a new survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The Norwegian capital Oslo jumped one place to third, replacing Hong Kong, which has slipped back to fourth.

World's most expensive

1 - Tokyo

2 - Osaka

3 - Oslo

4 - Hong Kong

5 - Libreville

6 - Zurich

7 - London

8 - Geneva

London was listed in seventh place, making it the most expensive within the European Union and New York, in 11th place topped America's list.

The rankings are complied by comparing prices and products in 134 countries worldwide.

In a surprise result, the city of Libreville in Gabon came in at fifth, although the report did not provide any real clarification on why this might be so.

Paris was given 10th place, retaining its crown as the most expensive city in the eurozone.

Overall, the cost of living within areas using the euro has risen as the strength of the currency has grown.

The reports also lists which countries are the cheapest around the world.

Dropping down the list

Winning the somewhat dubious honour of being the least expensive place to live falls this year to Harare.

The political and economic crisis that has gripped the country has sparked a massive drop in the cost of living.

Coming in just above was the Iranian capital Tehran.

And Buenos Aires tumbled from 21st on the list to take up the 130th slot after the collapse of its currency.

"Other South American cities such as Caracas in Venezuela and Montevideo in Uruguay are also big fallers," the report said.

Caracas is still in the grip of a national strike aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez to accept new elections.

Across Europe, the biggest bargain proved to be Bucharest, the region's cheapest at place 120.

In Asia, it was the Indian cities of New Delhi and Bombay.

And of those cities polled in the US, it was Atlanta that came in as the cheapest.