Cars and health insurance in Singapore are 133% and 109% more expensive than the global average, among 12 consumer goods and eight services that reflect the spending habits of wealthy citizens, according to this year's Julius Baer's Global Wealth report and Lifestyle.
The politically stable and tax-friendly city-state is one of the first Asian cities to significantly ease restrictions to stem the pandemic and has begun to see a concentration of wealth.
Demand for housing is high, school places are scarce and the general cost of living for all is high in Singapore, the report added.
Shanghai, which was in first place last year, fell to second place this year. Possible factors include longer pandemic restrictions than other cities, the report notes. Hong Kong is in third place, while Johannesburg is at the bottom of the list, which covers 25 cities around the world.
