Tokyo is now the most expensive city in the world, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.

According to the EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2013 report on Tuesday, the Japanese capital was listed as the No. 1 expensive city. It was followed by Osaka, Australia’s Sydney, Norway’s Oslo, Melbourne and Singapore. Seoul was ranked as the 37th-most expensive city on the list.

Switzerland’s Zurich, which topped the list last year, descended to the seventh position this year after revising its exchange rate and stabilizing its prices.

The EIU price index is calculated by comparing the prices of 160 top consumer products in 131 countries, according to the analysts.

The cheapest major cities were Pakistan’s Karachi and India’s Mumbai, where the general price level was some 44 percent of that in New York.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)