The ten most expensive cities in the world to live, according to The Economist

Israel’s Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world, according to the 2021 World Cost of Living Survey by the Intelligence Unit of the British weekly The Economist. This report compare the price of more than 200 products and services in 173 cities.

The Israeli city rose from fifth place last year to top this list for the first time, thus pushing Paris to second place, which together with Singapore (which ties with the capital of France), Zurich and Hong Kong, round out the top five. .

Among the reasons that led Tel Aviv to have this denomination is the increase in value of its local currency, the new shekel, and the increase in the price of around a tenth of the goods in the city, highlighting among them, food and the transport.

According to this survey, the prices of the goods and services studied in the cities increased by 3.5% in local currency terms, compared to 1.9% last year. Furthermore, the inflation rate was the fastest recorded in the last five years.

Cost increases were higher for transportation, as rising oil prices boosted the price of unleaded gasoline by 21%.

Other key findings from the study include:

• Rome saw the biggest drop in ranking from 32nd to 48th
• Tehran jumped from 79th to 29th place after reimposition of US sanctions on Iran
• Hong Kong had the most expensive gasoline prices, at $ 2.50 a liter
• Brand-name cigarette prices rose 6.7% on average

Forecasts for next year

Upasana Dutt, director of the survey, said in a statement that while most economies around the world are recovering as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out, “many major cities are still experiencing spikes in cases, which leads to social restrictions ”. Indicates that this situation has interrupted the supply of goods, thus which has led to shortages and higher prices.

“Over the next year, we expect to see the cost of living rise further in many cities as wages rise in many sectors. However, we also expect central banks to raise interest rates, cautiously, to contain inflation. Therefore, price increases should begin to moderate from this year’s level“, he pointed.

Overall, the top of the ranking is still dominated by developed European and Asian cities, while cities in North America and China remain relatively moderately priced.

Cheaper cities, mainly between the Middle East and Africa

On the other hand, among the 173 cities studied, Damascus, the capital of Syria, was again chosen as the cheapest city. The report shows that it was ranked the lowest in seven of the ten price categories, and was among the lowest in the remaining three.

While prices elsewhere have generally strengthened, in Damascus have fallen as Syria’s war-torn economy has suffered. The cheapest cities are mostly in the Middle East and Africa, or in the poorer parts of Asia. Latin America also has its representative: Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital.

Here are the rankings of the cheapest and most expensive cities according to The Economist:

The ten most expensive cities

1. Tel Aviv (Israel)

2. Paris (France)

3. Singapore

4. Zurich (Switzerland)

5. Hong Kong

6. New York (USA)

7. Geneva (Switzerland)

8. Copenhagen (Denmark)

9. Los Angeles (USA)

10. Osaka (Japan)

The ten cheapest cities

1. Damascus (Syria)

2. Tripoli (Libya)

3. Tashkent (Uzbekistan)

4. Tunisia

5. Almaty (Kazakhstan)

6. Karachi (Pakistan)

7. Ahmedabad (India)

8. Algiers (Algeria)

9. Buenos Aires (Argentina)

10. Lusaka (Zambia)

(I)