Mercer’s 2009 Worldwide Cost of Living survey has been released now and Tokyo has been named the world’s most expensive city. During the economic downturn, Japanese yen rose against the American dollar and other currencies. Tokyo is followed by Osaka, Moscow and Geneva, which were at the top last year. The drastic changes in the exchange rates over the last one year has accounted for the significant changes in the order of the cities in the new list. Hit the jump to see the world’s most expensive cities to live.

20. Dubai, UAE (March 2008 Ranking: 52)

19. Helsinki, Finland (March 2008 Ranking: 21)

18. Rome, Italy (March 2008 Ranking: 16)

17. Tel Aviv, Israel (March 2008 Ranking: 14)

16. London, U.K. (March 2008 Ranking: 3)

15. Caracas, Venezuela (March 2008 Ranking: 89)

14. Oslo, Norway (March 2008 Ranking: 4)

13. Paris, France (March 2008 Ranking: 12)

12. Shanghai, China (March 2008 Ranking: 24)

11. Milan, Italy (March 2008 Ranking: 10)

10. Singapore (March 2008 Ranking: 13)

9. Beijing, China (March 2008 Ranking: 20)

8. New York City, U.S. (March 2008 Ranking: 22)

7. Copenhagen, Denmark (March 2008 Ranking: 7)

6. Zurich, Switzerland (March 2008 Ranking: 9)

5. Hong Kong (March 2008 Ranking: 6)

4. Geneva, Switzerland (March 2008 Ranking: 8)

3. Moscow, Russia (March 2008 Ranking: 1)

2. Osaka, Japan (March 2008 Ranking: 11)

1. Tokyo, Japan (March 2008 Ranking: 2)

Mercer’s study takes 143 cities across six continents and compares the costs of over 200 items in each location.

Via: Forbes465372