According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) cost of living index, Portugal is among the cheapest cities in Western Europe this year. The Portuguese capital has a lower cost of living than Athens, similar to what happened in 2022. But in 2021, previous data for this indicator shows that the Greek capital was cheaper than Lisbon. And in 2020, the two cities were at the same level. The EIU publishes this index twice a year and compares more than 400 prices for more than 200 products and services in 173 cities around the world. Data is collected in March and September each year and then published in June and December. The index released yesterday is the result of information collected between August 14 and September 13, 2023.
More expensive than Portugal, next to Athens, and in ascending order, appear Stockholm, Rotterdam, Luxembourg, Léon, Rome, Brussels, Manchester, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Stuttgart, Amsterdam, Madrid, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Oslo, Munich, Milan , Reykjavik, Helsinki, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Copenhagen, Paris, Geneva and Zurich.
New York is the reference in the cost of living index (100) and Lisbon is below 60 points (Athens, a little further away, is at 60). The most expensive city in Western Europe, among the cities analyzed, is Zurich, which is above 100, that is, more expensive than New York. Madrid and Barcelona are at around 75 points, London at 83 and Paris at 91.
Zurich leads the top 10th most expensive cities in the world (104), tied with Singapore (104), followed by another Swiss city, Geneva (100), which is equal to the cost of living in New York, a city that ranked first last year busy. This is followed by Hong Kong (98), Los Angeles (97), Paris (91), Tel Aviv and Copenhagen (both with 89) and in tenth place San Francisco, with 86 points.
Zurich rose from sixth to first place last year to become the most expensive country again after a three-year hiatus, and Singapore remains the most expensive country for the ninth time in eleven years. Damascus, the capital of Syria, is the cheapest city in the world in this index by The Economist. This, despite the fact that “the price of the basket in local currency has increased by 321% compared to last year (between the removal of government subsidies and the devaluation of the currency, which has increased import costs)”, the publication points out.
“Western Europe is responsible for four of the ten most expensive cities on our list. The ‘sticky’ inflation in food, clothing and personal care, together with the appreciation of the euro and other currencies in the region, has led to these cities rising in rankings” says The Economist.
On average, prices in the world’s major cities rose by 7.4% this year compared to 2022, in local currencies, the analysis showed. “This is slightly lower than the 8.1% price increase recorded last year as supply chain disruptions eased and interest rates rose, but remains significantly above the 2017-2021 trend,” EIU concluded.
Analysts believe that the decline in inflation in 2023 has been “modest”. “In 2024, we forecast that the lagged impact of rising interest rates will slow economic activity and thus consumer demand,” they point out. But there is a risk that the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas will lead to a further increase in energy prices, and also that the impact of the El Niño phenomenon on food prices will be greater than expected, which will have a negative effect . in inflation, predicts The Economist.
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Source: DN
