What are the most expensive cities in the world

After five years of leading the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) global cost of living poll, Paris and Hong Kong joined the city-state in first place.

Zurich and Geneva were also ranked in the top five, while New York and Los Angeles regained their top ten places, seventh and tenth respectively, after falling to 13th and 14th places last year, due to the weakness of dollar.

The purpose of the survey is to help companies calculate the cost-of-living benefits and create compensation systems for expatriates and business travelers.

The trio of cities that share the top position costs 7% more than New York, according to EIU, which gathers its list from an badysis of 160 products and services in 93 countries.

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The Japanese port city of Osaka was another entry on the list and climbed six places to number five. Seoul (seventh place), Copenhagen (also seventh) and Tel Aviv (number ten) round out the top ten in the ranking, which actually has 11 cities because of ties.

"The weaker currencies have reduced the position of the five Australian cities and two of New Zealand have been ranked in the standings," said EIU, which explains the absence of Sydney after scraping the tenth position in the report last year.

Excluding the top ten cities, EIU said the cost of living in Chinese cities remains relatively stable, while destinations in Southeast Asia are growing.

One of the factors explaining Asia's strong presence at the top of the table is that some Asian cities are among the most expensive places in the world for groceries, according to EIU .

But while parts of Asia remain the most expensive areas of the planet, the continent also appears at the bottom of the list.

"In Asia, southern cities, particularly in India and Pakistan, generally offer the best value for money," said EIU. "To a certain extent, this continues to apply and Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi and Karachi are among the 10 least expensive localities in the survey."