New Delhi: Israel’s Tel Aviv has been named as the most expensive city in the world to live in, as per a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
With soaring inflation and supply-chain problems pushing up prices globally, Tel Aviv climbed from fifth place last year to top the Worldwide Cost of Living 2021 report for the first time.
Tel Aviv’s climb to the top pushing Paris down to joint second with Singapore mainly reflected the soaring value of Israel’s currency, the shekel, against the dollar.
Besides, the local prices of around 10 percent of the goods also increased significantly, especially for groceries.
Zurich and Hong Kong rounded out the top five.
These are the top 10 most expensive cities:
- Tel Aviv
- Paris (joint second)
- Singapore (joint second)
- Zurich
- Hong Kong
- New York
- Geneva
- Copenhagen
- Los Angeles
- Osaka
Syria’s Damascus retained its place as the cheapest in the world.
The 2021 Worldwide Cost of Living index, which surveyed 173 cities, compared more than 400 prices in US dollars across 200 goods and services.
The survey compares costs in US dollars for goods and services in 173 cities.
The data collected in August and September this year showed that on average prices rose 3.5 percent in local currency terms – the fastest inflation rate recorded over the past five years – as per the EIU.
As per the survey, transport has seen the biggest price increases with the cost of a litre of petrol increasing by 21 percent on an average in the cities studied.
Tel Aviv, according to the survey, was the second most expensive city for alcohol and transport, fifth for personal care items and sixth for recreation.
Paris, Zurich and Hong Kong shared the joint first place last year.
The cheapest cities are mainly in the Middle East and Africa.
Tehran, though, climbed the most in the rankings, leapfrogging from 79th to 29th. This as the US economic sanctions reinstated three years ago continued to cause shortages of goods and rising import prices in Iran, BBC reported.
Rome courtesy the sharp falls in local grocery and clothing prices witnessed the biggest drop in the rankings and fell from 32nd to 48th place.
The rankings, according to the EIU, continued to be sensitive to shifts brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Although most economies are now recovering as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out, the world's major cities still experience frequent surges in cases, prompting renewed social restrictions,” the EIU said.
“In many cities this has disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices,” it added.
The EIU said fluctuating consumer demand has also influenced purchasing habits, while investor confidence has affected currencies, further fuelling price rises.
The EIU further said that it expected price rises to moderate over the coming year as central banks cautiously increased interest rates to control inflation.