Tokyo and Osaka are the world's two most expensive cities in which to live, and Seoul ranks 37th, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Index survey released by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The EUI releases the list twice a year and studies the cost of living in 131 cities in 97 countries. It looks at over 400 indicators to compare the prices of products and services. It gives New York City a benchmark value of 100 and rates other cities on the index relative to that.

Sydney was the third most expensive city and Melbourne ranked joint fourth with Oslo. The top 20 included 11 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, eight from Europe but none from the U.S.

The highest-ranked city in North America was Vancouver, at No. 21, while Los Angeles and New York City shared 27th place.