Cost of living: the world's most and least expensive cities

The Economist Intelligence Unit World Wide Cost of Living 2018 survey takes into consideration price fluctuations over the course of a given year for commodities such as food, drink, clothing, household supplies, personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help, and recreational costs.

Click through the gallery to learn about how cities around the world rank in terms of cost of living.

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10. Most expensive: Sydney, Australia - The 10th most expensive city on the planet also happens to be among the top five most livable cities in the world.

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9. Most expensive: Tel Aviv, Israel - Nine years ago, this city was ranked number 34 on the cost of living list. Today, it has jumped an incredible 25 spots, making it the ninth most expensive city on the planet.

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8. Most expensive: Copenhagen, Denmark - Denmark's capital has costly transportation, recreation, and expensive personal care items.

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7. Most expensive: Seoul, South Korea - Seoul maintained its ranking this year, coming in once more as the 7th most expensive city to live in.

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6. Most expensive: Geneva, Switzerland - Ten years ago, a loaf of bread in this European city cost an average of US$4.87. In 2018, prices are up to roughly US$6.45.

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5. Most expensive: Oslo, Norway - A pack of cigarettes in Oslo will cost you approximately US$13.50. Ten years ago? An estimated $11.48.

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4. Most expensive: Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Hong Kong is one of the costliest places for staple goods.

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3. Most expensive: Zurich, Switzerland - A bottle of wine used to cost an average of US$11.34 ten years ago in Zurich. Be ready to spend up to US$15.89 for a bottle of wine in this European city nowadays.

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2. Most expensive: Paris, France - Since 2003, the French capital has always appeared among the top 10 most expensive cities.

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1. Most expensive: Singapore, Singapore - For the 5th year in a row, Singapore remains at the top of the ranking as the most expensive city in the world.

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10. Least expensive: New Delhi, India -

Instability in cities across India is contributing to the cheap cost of living in places like New Delhi. In layman's terms, life may be cheaper but it is not always better.

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9. Least expensive: Bucharest, Romania - Gas in the ninth cheapest city in the world used to cost an average of US$1.58 per liter ten years ago. Petrol is down to US$1.26 today.

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8. Least expensive: Chennai, India - Another city in India among the cheapest in the world is Chennai, coming in at number eight.

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7. Least expensive: Algiers, Algeria - Algiers is a city that has dealt with economic and infrastructural challenges. There is a correlation between this and cost of living.

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6. Least expensive: Karachi, Pakistan - Similarly, Karachi has faced well-documented security hardships which also keeps cost of living down.

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5. Least expensive: Bangalore, India - You will get the best value for money typically in South Asian cities, Bangalore being among them. It breaks the top five least expensive cities on earth.

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4. Least expensive: Lagos, Nigeria - Political struggles are also affecting the livability in this city, which in turn influences cost of living. Lagos is number four.

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3. Least expensive: Almaty, Kazakhstan - The third least expensive city on the planet is Almaty. It was named the cheapest last year, but the devaluation of its national currency caused it to drop in the ranking.

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2. Least expensive: Caracas, Venezuela - Economic disruption is what has made this city rather cheap.

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1. Least expensive: Damascus, Syria - Similarly, political disruption in this war-torn city has made it significantly cheaper. Damascus is now the cheapest city in the world.

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5. Biggest move up: Prague, Czech Republic - In the past year, Prague moved up in the ranking by 13 spots.

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4. Biggest move up: Kiev, Ukraine - Over 12 months, Kiev, Ukraine also leaped 14 spots.

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3. Biggest move up: St. Petersburg, Russia - A stronger currency pushed St. Petersburg up 14 spots.

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2. Biggest move up: Santiago, Chile - Prices of copper went up, which is the country's main export. This, in turn, strengthened the Chilean peso, and Santiago moved up a whopping 20 spots in the ranking.

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1. Biggest move up: Mexico City, Mexico - This is now the most expensive city in Latin America due to increased inflation. Mexico City moved up 23 spots in the last 12 months.

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5. Biggest move down: Damascus, Syria - The cheapest city in the world fell 14 spots on the ranking, earning the war-torn city the new title.

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4. Biggest move down: Nouméa, New Caledonia - Also falling 14 spots this year was Nouméa, New Caledonia, making it the fourth biggest drop on the list.

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3. Biggest move down: Chicago, USA - Likewise, the US city moved down 14 spots on the ranking.

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2. Biggest move down: Cairo, Egypt - The second biggest drop was Cairo, having moved 22 places. Currency devaluation was the culprit.

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1. Biggest move down: Tashkent, Uzbekistan - The largest move down the ranking was Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which fell 35 spots. Its currency value was depreciated by nearly 50%, which had an effect.

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Cost of living: the world's most and least expensive cities -