World’s most expensive cities or places to live 2021 declared by EIU; Tel Aviv tops the list followed by Paris, Singapore

A biannual report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for the first time has uncovered Tel Aviv in Israel is presently the most expensive place on the planet to live. Last year, the city sat in the fifth spot.

Tel Aviv, Israel, is presently the most expensive city in the world to live in, as indicated by a biannual report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The Israeli city beat the EIU’s December 2021 worldwide cost of living index for the first time ever, ascending from fifth place a year ago.

The report said that the main reason Tel Aviv had the gigantic surge on the list is for the most part because the Israeli currency, the shekel, had taken off.

The EIU said that Tel Aviv ascended the rankings chiefly because the Israeli currency, the shekel, had taken off, “buoyed against the dollar by Israel’s successful Covid-19 vaccine rollout.”

Supply-chain blockages and changing customer demand have pushed up the average cost of living in a significant number of our biggest cities, as per the new research published Wednesday, and expansion is the fastest recorded over the past five years.

One city has been experiencing more quick change than most, bouncing from fifth place to first in the current year’s Worldwide Cost of Living index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The Israeli city of Tel Aviv bested the rankings for the first time, surpassing last year’s leader Paris, which is presently connected second place to Singapore.

The EIU attributes Tel Aviv’s sharp ascent on the index to increments to grocery and transport costs and the strength of the Israeli shekel against the US dollar.

Everyday goods and services

The 2021 Worldwide Cost of Living file tracks the typical cost of living across 173 global cities — 40 more than last year – and compares the cost of more than 200 everyday products and services.

Information for the study, which has been completed for over three decades, is accumulated by EIU’s global team of analysts each March and September.

The index is benchmarked against costs in New York City, consequently, cities with currencies that are stronger against the US dollar are probably going to seem higher in the rankings.

Zurich and Hong Kong are at Nos. four and five respectively, having held the top spot last year close by Paris. New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka gather together the rest of the top 10.

The upper rankings keeps on being dominated by European and created Asian cities. The lowest-ranking cities are chiefly in the Middle East, Africa, and less wealthy parts of Asia.

Pandemic issues

The EIU reports that, on average, costs for the goods and services covered by the index have ascended by 3.5% year on year in local-currency terms, contrasted and an expansion of simply 1.9% this time last year.

Those much-revealed global supply-chain issues have added to price rises and the Covid-19 pandemic and social limitations are as yet influencing production and trade around the world. With a new Covid variant right now causing widespread alarm, these issues will not be disappearing in a rush.

Rising oil costs drove a 21% expansion in the cost of unleaded petrol, reports the EIU, yet there were additionally huge price hikes in the recreation, tobacco, and personal care categories.

The highest rising city in 2021 was the Iranian city of Tehran, which bounced 50 places from No.79 to No.29 as US sanctions brought about shortages and higher costs.

The Syrian city of Damascus once again ranks as the least expensive city in the world, as its war-torn economy keeps on battling. Damascus and Tehran suffered from exceptionally high expansion in 2021, as did Caracas in Venezuela and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

More to come

Upasana Dutt, head of Worldwide Cost of Living at EIU, said in a statement: “Although most economies across the world are now recovering as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out, many major cities are still seeing spikes in cases, leading to social restrictions. These have disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices.

We can clearly see the impact in this year’s index, with the rise in petrol prices particularly stark. But not all cities saw price increases. Many of the cities towards the bottom of our rankings saw prices stagnate or even fall, partly because their currencies weakened against the US dollar.

Over the coming year, we expect to see the cost of living rise further in many cities as wages increase in many sectors. However, we are also expecting central banks to raise interest rates, cautiously, to stem inflation. So the price increases should start to moderate from this year’s level.”

Israel had one of the fastest Covid-19 vaccination programs in the world. As per figures from Our World in Data, 62% of Israel’s populace were fully-vaccinated as of Monday. Toward the beginning of November, the Israeli shekel was up 4% against the U.S. dollar year-to-date, however has since managed those increases.

Around a 10th of goods rose in cost in Tel Aviv, in the EIU’s most recent research, which checked out the costs of more than 200 products and services in 173 cities.

All the more extensively, the EIU said that the inflation rate of the costs it followed had ascended by 3.5% year-on-year in local currency terms to September 2021, up from only 1.9% in 2020. It said this represented the fastest speed of inflation in its index over the past five years.

Supply chain issues, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, and changes in customer demand prompted this ascent in costs for commodities and different merchandise, the EIU said. Transport saw the greatest ascent in cost, with the cost of gasoline per liter up by 21% on average in 2021, as indicated by the research.

Upasana Dutt, head of worldwide cost of living at the EIU, said that costs were relied upon to rise further across numerous cities over the coming year, as pay expanded.

“However, we are also expecting central banks to raise interest rates, cautiously, to stem inflation,” she said, adding that these cost increments ought to, consequently, begin to moderate from the current levels.

The French capital of Paris fell to second place in the rankings, followed by Singapore. Rome, Italy, saw the greatest fall in the rankings, because of a sharp decrease in the expense of groceries and clothing.

World’s most expensive cities to live 2021

1. Tel Aviv, Israel

2. (tie) Paris, France

2. (tie) Singapore

4. Zurich, Switzerland

5. Hong Kong

6. New York City, New York

7. Geneva, Switzerland

8. Copenhagen, Denmark

9. Los Angeles, California

10. Osaka, Japan

11. Oslo, Norway

12. Seoul, South Korea

13. Tokyo, Japan

14. (tie) Vienna, Austria

14. (tie) Sydney, Australia

16. Melbourne, Australia

17. (tie) Helsinki, Finland

17. (tie) London, UK

19. (tie) Dublin, Ireland

19. (tie) Frankfurt, Germany

19. (tie) Shanghai, China