TOKYO (pictured) is currently the most expensive city in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit, part of the Economist Group, has released its Worldwide Cost of Living survey, and the Japanese capital climbs from last year's seventh place to first.

The table's figures represent a weighted average of the prices of over 160 items found in 140 cities, from a loaf of bread to a luxury car. This year’s survey shows substantial changes from last year's because of recent exchange-rate fluctuations. For example, when the data was actually collected in September 2008, Oslo was the most expensive city in the world (as it was the year before). But the depreciation of the Norwegian krone since then has dropped the city to fifth place.





By the same token, London, which was third last year and eighth when the data was collected, is now ranked the 27th-most expensive city in the world, thanks to the pound’s fall. It is cheaper than New York for the first time since 2002.

On the other hand, the strengths of the dollar and the yen have made American and Japanese cities comparatively more expensive in the last five months. This accounts for Tokyo's rise to the top of the ranking and Osaka's surge to second place. But despite the fall of the euro, Western Europe still dominates the table and supplies seven of the top ten cities. Chicago, Los Angeles and New York are the dearest American cities, in joint 23rd position. At the other end of the table, Karachi replaces Tehran as the cheapest city.

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