The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has presented its annual ranking of the cost of living in different cities around the world - according to experts, the global crisis has begun to recede, but is far from over.
The study involved 173 of the world's largest cities. It compared more than 400 prices for 200 items of goods and services between August 14 and September 11. The EIU emphasized that many cities continue to suffer from price increases due to high inflation: the global average was 7.4% year-on-year in local currency. Although this is 0.7 percentage points lower than last year, the price increase is still above the 2017-2021 trend.
The top 10 looks like this:
- Singapore (Singapore)
- Zurich (Switzerland)
- Geneva (Switzerland)
- New York (USA)
- Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
- Los Angeles (USA)
- Paris (France)
- Copenhagen (Denmark)
- Tel Aviv (Israel)
- San Francisco (USA).
Globally, utility prices (electricity and water bills) grew the slowest of the ten categories covered in our survey. This category was the fastest growing category in 2022, and the moderation reflects the easing of energy price shocks caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Instead, food prices rose at the fastest pace. Food inflation has been relentless worldwide as many producers and retailers have passed on higher costs to consumers, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events continues to raise supply-side risks.
