Study reveals Singaporeans endure one of the
poorest quality of life
A report by international Swiss investment
bank UBS reveals that Singaporeans have one of the poorest
quality of life — a level comparable with Moscow and
Johannesburg.
Entitled “Price and Earnings 2009″, the report reveals that
while Singaporeans enjoy one of the highest per capital GDP
(PPP-adjusted) in Asia at $49,288, the figures belie the quality of
life the ordinary Singaporean endures.
Although Singapore has a higher GDP per capita than countries
such as Switzerland, it has a depressing wage index of only 31.3,
compared to Zurich and Geneva of 119.8 and 107.5 respectively.
The wage index of Singapore is approximately at the same level
as that of Moscow (30.9), Tallinn (28.7) and Johannesburg (26.7).
In Asia-Pacific, wages in Tokyo (83.0), Sydney (74.1),
Hongkong (42.3) and Taipei (35.5) also exceed that of
Singapore.
Singaporeans have poor purchasing power
According to the UBS study, Singaporeans also have one of the
poorest purchasing power compared to other countries in the
world.
The average annual salary is divided by the total price of a
selected basket of goods and service to derive a formula signalling
the country’s purchasing power.
Again, the average Singaporean’s purchasing power (39.9) falls
strongly behind cities such as Zurich (106.9), Sydney (95.9),
Taipei (58.9), Hongkong (58.1) and Tokyo (82.2). The country’s
average purchasing power is comparable to only areas such as Kuala
Lumpur (39.5), Warsaw (34.0) and Bogota (33.7).
The report also reveals that Singaporeans spend longer working
hours, with lesser hours of vacation staying in a city that is
ranked the second most expensive place to live in after Tokyo.
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