No. 30: Sydney, Australia

Rank in 2009: 150

FOOD: Lunch at a restaurant: $26
Can of beer from grocer: $3.38
One kg of rice: $2.80
One dozen eggs: $5.19

ENTERTAINMENT: Movie ticket: $14.50

APPLIANCES: Washing machine: $831

Domestic purchasing power in Sydney is the second-highest in the world (after Zurich's), according to UBS’s 2009 survey. Sydney is an important industrial center in Australia—especially for production of consumer goods, engineering, transportation equipment, and refined petroleum products. The city also accounts for about one-third of employment in the country’s finance sector, according to the U.N.