The Cost of Living Index 2021 was released by The Economic Intelligence Unit according to which Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world.
Highlights:
- Tel Aviv is the world’s most expensive city, which Paris follows in second place and Singapore in third place.
- In 2020, Paris was the most expensive city, while in 2021, Zurich and Hong Kong are at fourth and fifth place, respectively.
- Developed Asian cities and European cities dominated the upper rankings, and the lowest rankings were occupied by cities in Africa, the Middle East and less wealthy parts of Asia.
- The highest price rise was in Tehran’s Iranian city, which jumped from 79th rank in 2020 to 29th rank in 2021.
- The US sanctions led to shortages and higher prices. The Syrian city Damascus was ranked the lowest because its war-torn economy is still struggling to recover. Both Damascus and Tehran are suffering from high inflation.
- The other cities that are suffering from high inflation are Buenos in Argentina and Caracas in Venezuela.
- No Indian cities covered the first 20 ranks. Tokyo, Japan and Shanghai, China were covered in the first twenty ranks.
Cost-of-Living Index
- The Cost-of-Living Index tracks the cost of living of 173 cities in the world. It compares more than 200 everyday products and services.
- The index benchmarks the prices against the prices in New York. Thus, the cities with currencies that are stronger than the US Dollars appear higher in the ranking.
- The index reveals that the world’s overall prices of goods and services have progressed by 3.5%. In 2020, this was 1.9%.
- The global supply chain was hugely changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its limitations.
- The oil price rise played a significant role in the price rise, and unleaded petrol prices increased by 21%.
