UBS, or the United Bank of Switzerland, has released the 16th edition of its UBS Prices and Earnings study, revealing the prices, wages and earners' purchasing power in 71 cities worldwide, based on a survey on prices of 122 goods and services.

As a global firm providing financial services, UBS has published the report roughly every three years since 1971, compiling over 68,000 economic data points since the last edition in 2012.

Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland are the two most expensive cities in the world, followed by New York City in the United States. Their prices are over 2.5 times higher than those in Bucharest, Sofia, and Kiev, which lie at the bottom of the list.

Japan's Tokyo is the priciest city in Asia. However, when rent is added to the mix, Hong Kong is No. 1 in Asia and No. 6 in the world. The prices in China's Shanghai and Beijing are chasing after those in the European countries.

Read on to check out the top 10 most expensive cities in the world.

 Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia [Photo by Xu Lin / China.org.cn]

Price level (excluding rent): 80.5

Price level (including rent): 72.5