Tokyo Falls as World's Costliest City

Tokyo, rated the world's most expensive city last year by the Economist Intelligence Unit, has dropped out of the top five thanks to the soaring cost of living in other cities, including the new No. 1, Singapore. The city-state was sent to the top of the list by its strong currency and the sky-high cost of running a car, reports the BBC, which notes that Singapore is also the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes.

Paris, Oslo, Zurich, and Sydney also made the top five out of 131 cities ranked, with Tokyo falling to sixth place. Researchers say Singapore's rise to the top from 18th most expensive a decade ago has been "steady rather than spectacular," the Straits Times reports. The cheapest cities included major Indian cities like Mumbai and New Delhi, as well as Damascus, Syria, where civil war has apparently caused prices to plunge. (More Singapore stories.)