Zurich, Hong Kong, and Paris are the world’s most expensive cities. This is according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a division of the Economist newspaper.
The EIU released its latest Worldwide Cost of Living report which found that Zurich, Hong Kong, and Paris were tied as the most expensive cities in the world. Using New York as a baseline (with average expenses calculated to give New York a baseline of 100), the three most expensive cities all had expense rankings of 103. The top ten most expensive global cities were Singapore, Tel Aviv, Osaka, Geneva, New York, Copenhagen, and Los Angeles.
The survey looks at the prices of nearly 140 goods and services in over 130 cities around the world, to determine the cost of living in each city.
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns have seen price rises in a number of cities around the world. According to the Economist, the global lockdowns saw the cost of computers rising, as more people worked from home and needed the equipment which would allow them to do so. At the same time, clothing prices in many cities dropped as fewer people shopped. There was a shift to online retail but not enough to make up for the decline in people visiting brick-and-mortar shops.
The cost of alcohol also rose as people sought escape from the reality of the lockdowns and Covid-19.
Johannesburg and Pretoria were the only South African cities in the ranking, and both had a price index of just above 40 in 2020. In 2010 both cities had an index of over 80. This decline is likely a function of a declining rand and rising poverty levels, according to the EIU.
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