The Economist Intelligence Unit has published its annual cost-of-living study, comparing the prices of 400 goods and services across 173 major cities worldwide. The study, which has been conducted for the past 30 years, uses New York as a benchmark, with a base rating of 100 points.
The study reveals that the cost of living in major cities has increased by an average of 7.4%, a slight decrease from last year’s figure of 8.1%, but significantly higher than the average for 2017-2021.
Singapore and Zurich topped the list as the cities with the highest cost of living, with Zurich’s ranking boosted by the strengthening of the Swiss franc and Singapore’s by the high cost of transport and clothing. Other cities in the top ten include Geneva, New York, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, and San Francisco.
However, the study was conducted before the recent armed conflict in the Middle East, which could impact Israel’s national currency exchange rate and the prices of certain goods. Some changes in the ranking can also be attributed to a slight weakening of the dollar.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, ranked 169th, making it one of the five cheapest cities in the world, with a base rating of 31 points. The city with the lowest cost of living is Damascus, Syria, with a base rating of 13 points, nearly twice as low as the next city, Tehran, Iran, with 20 points. The top ten cheapest cities also include Tripoli, Lusaka, Lagos, Buenos Aires, and the Indian cities of Ahmedabad and Chennai.
In Damascus, Tehran, and Tripoli, food, household goods, and personal hygiene products are particularly cheap. Meanwhile, Caracas recorded the highest inflation rate, exceeding 450%.
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