Paris is now the most expensive city to live in the world. An annual survey compares prices of 160 basic commodities in 133 of the world's largest and richest cities. In the first place, with equal figures, are Paris, Hong Kong and the city, which was in the first position 5 times in a row - Singapore. Just behind the list of expensive cities are Zurich, Geneva and Osaka.

Megapolis of emerging markets, such as Moscow and Istanbul, are down a lot, mainly due to inflation and devaluation of national currencies. For the first time in 30 years in the first place are 3 cities with equal figures.

 According to experts from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) who are doing the research, it means that the world's mega-cities are becoming more and more equal. "Equalization is indicative of globalization and similar shopping tastes and habits," says Roxana Slavcheva. "Even in places where food is cheaper, the cost of living comes from household bills and transport," she added.

 Rising prices are often determined by an active labor market that attracts skilled workers with high wages, says analyst Anthony Brich of the British Center for Cities Research Group.

"Urban authorities have to plan ahead in the future to be able to provide the necessary housing stock and keep prices affordable'', he says. As always, the EIU survey shows large differences in prices for the same service or commodity in different cities.

 Ladies' haircuts cost $ 15 in the Indian city of Bangalore and $ 210 in New York. A bottle of beer is 50 cents in Lagos and over 3 dollars in Zurich. The economic crisis has made Caracas one of the lowest-priced cities in the world. The last ten of the ranking are Damascus, Karachi, Buenos Aires and New Delhi.

Low prices, however, do not mean a high purchasing power of the population, as prices adjust to inflation faster than people's incomes. "Prices in Istanbul, for example, have fallen. But household spending has increased and low prices have not had a beneficial effect on people's lives.