Groceries are more expensive in Seoul than in New York or Tokyo, with only five Swiss cities surpassing the South Korean capital in grocery costs, data showed Monday.

According to city and country database website Numbeo, Seoul’s groceries price index amounted to 105.01, placing it at No. 6 on a list of 375 major cities. 

The groceries price index is calculated according to the retail prices of items such as meat, vegetables and fruit, based on data contributed by users. 

Swiss cities occupied the top five slots on the list. Zurich was No. 1 at 130.18, followed by Basel (128.26), Lausanne (127.70), Geneva (119.81) and Bern (113.57). 

New York immediately followed Seoul with an even 100. Norway’s Trondheim came in eighth while Honolulu ranked ninth. Tokyo was No. 15.
Pakistan’s Rawalpindi had the cheapest groceries, marking a score of 14.37. 

In terms of another index that measures living costs as a whole -- which includes eating out, transportation and other retail shopping but excludes housing -- Seoul ranked just 23rd at 86.59. 

But Seoul still had higher living costs than Paris (86.02), Osaka (82.51) and Singapore (81.12).

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)