Tel Aviv is joint fifth in "The Economist"'s list of the world's most expensive cities, up two places from its position in the 2019 list.
Each year, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) examines the cost of a basket of 138 basic products in 133 cities around the world. The benchmark for comparison is New York, which receives 100 points. Tel Aviv received 101 points, while the three most expensive cities received 103 points.
First place is shared by Zurich (up four places from last year's list), Paris (also up four places), and Hong Kong, the only city to retain its position from 2019. The EIU says that Zurich and Paris reached top place because of the strengthening of the Swiss franc and the euro in the past year.
The EIU report notes that the coronavirus pandemic caused the US dollar to weaken, while Western European and North Asia currencies strengthened, causing changes in the prices of goods and services.
Asian cities have fallen in the table. Singapore, which last year shares top spot with Osaka, is in fourth place this year, which the EIU attributes to the many foreign workers who left Singapore because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past year, Singapore's population has shrunk for the first time since 2003, leading to a fall in demand, and deflation. Osaka shares fifth place with Tel Aviv.
New York is down three places from last year, sharing seventh place with Geneva, which rose three places. Sydney is fifteenth, London is twentieth, while Moscow is 106th.
The biggest jump in the cost of living is recorded by Teheran. US sanctions on Iran have led to the country's largest city moving up from 106th place to 79th place in the list of the world's most expensive cities.
The biggest drop is by Reykjavik, down 27 places to 56th, while Rio di Janeiro and Sao Paulo share 119th place after falling 23 places. Brazil, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, suffers from weakness of its currency and rising poverty rates.
Besides currency fluctuations, the EIU cites as factors in changes in cities' rankings the disruption to supply chains because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to shortages, and changes in consumption patterns as people work from home and endure long lockdowns.
According to the EIU, the ten most expensive cities in the world are Zurich, Paris, and Hong Kong; Singapore; Tel Aviv and Osaka; Geneva and New York; and Copenhagen and Los Angeles.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 18, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020