11 Most Expensive Countries in Asia

Page 1 of 12

We have long-since brought you the list of most expensive countries in the world and it’s time to start dissecting this “third rock from the Sun” of ours which we shall start by bringing you this list of 11 most expensive countries in Asia. Taking a look at just mentioned list of top 15 most expensive countries in the world – 2014 could be a good idea asm well in order to see which of the Asian countries (if any) have found their place in the select company of world’s most expensive countries. I am choosing the term most expensive over elite on purpose because some countries don’t have the economies to follow exorbitant prices of consumer’s baskets.

Ashraf Jandali/Shutterstock.com 11 Most Expensive Countries in Asia

Ashraf Jandali/Shutterstock.com

Most of the Asian countries are still developing and as such tend to exhibit lower costs of living. However, a few of those that will top our list stand as contrast and manage to keep up with world’s most developed countries. Our main source has been Numbeo. It’s an online database which serves as cost of living comparison between world’s countries and cities, and as such isn’t as precise as we would have liked it to be. However, by looking at some more reputable sources like The Economist’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2015 report and UBS Wealth Management’s Price & Earnings Edition 2015, we have been able to confirm Numbeo’s results. Trick is – these couple reports (and most other reports out there) rank cities; not countries. You have to note that living costs are always higher in any country’s urban hubs than in rural areas. That being said, actual country’s CPI’s are usually lower than it is the case with their listed city CPI’s.

Speaking of CPI’s (Consumer Price Index) – this will be the main criterion for determining which of the 11 most expensive countries in Asia takes which spot. CPI measures periodical changes in the price level of most basic services and consumer goods necessary for every modern household. However, consumer basket isn’t the only expense a household has. While restaurants, night clubs and similar commodities can be considered as luxury, rent and groceries certainly can’t be. This is why we have decided to collect the median value of the consumer price, rent and groceries indexes in order to bring you the most accurate possible result. Purchasing power index wasn’t taken into consideration as it only affects the local population which isn’t intended as this article’s target group. The final average price index can further be compared with the base index of 100 which is the index of prices in New York City.

Page 1 of 12