Singapore is the most liveable city in Asia

The distance of its rankings with other Asian cities reflects a disparity in quality of living.

Singapore remains the most liveable city in Asia, Mercer’s 2018 Quality of Living survey revealed. In the world rankings, it also stayed in 25th place.

In 2017, Singapore topped the city infrastructure ranking, followed by Frankfurt and Munich both in 2nd place. Mercer has not yet revealed if its ranking changed this year.

According to a press release, Vienna tops the ranking for the 9th year running and is followed by Zurich (2), Auckland and Munich in joint 3rd place. In 5th place, Vancouver completes the top five and is the highest ranking city in North America.

Mercer noted that the distance of the rankings between Singapore and other Asian countries reflects “the region’s great disparity in quality of living.” In Southeast Asia, Singapore was followed by Kuala Lumpur (85), Bangkok (132), Manila (137), and Jakarta (142).

Five Japanese cities top the ranking for East Asia: Tokyo (50), Kobe (50), Yokohama (55), Osaka (59), and Nagoya (64). Other notable cities in Asia include Hong Kong (71), Seoul (79), Taipei (84), Shanghai (103), and Beijing (119).

However, in a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Limited, Singapore also retains its title as the world’s most expensive city for the fifth consecutive year, leading a list that is largely split between Asia and Europe. The study found out that personal care, household goods, and domestic help in Singapore are relatively cheap compared to other countries in the top 10, but prices of bread, wine, and smokes are some of the most expensive.