Tel Aviv has emerged as the world’s most expensive city to live in as the cost of a whole range of goods and services shot up.

The Israeli capital climbed five rungs to displace Paris, Hong Kong and Zurich which were jointly declared at the top of the list for the most expensive cities last year, according to the ranks compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Paris was joint second on the list this year with Singapore, while Zurich and Hong Kong were the next two among the top five. New York was ranked sixth, followed by Geneva at the seventh spot. Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka in Japan, in descending order, accounted for the rest of the Top 10.

London rose three rungs to 17 in the annual ranking, while Sydney went up one to 14, and Melbourne up two to 16.

The EIU compiles scores in 10 major spending categories that also include energy, alcohol, personal care and recreation. The survey includes rental costs, but does not factor in property prices.

The dislocation of the global economy triggered by the pandemic-enforced lockdowns this year played a large part in the shake-up of the rankings.

The price of energy and food have soared in some countries as there have been restrictions on trade, labour shortages and supply chain bottlenecks due to the pandemic. The average cost of a litre of petrol has soared by 21%, the survey found.

Interestingly, Rome saw the biggest drop in ranking as it fell 16 rungs to 48, as the cost of groceries and clothing came down sharply. Bangkok registered the second-biggest drop, with significant declines in all expenditure categories.