From simple daily activities to global travel, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on people and the cities in which they live.
It’s affected the cost of living around the world, in some cities more than others.
It’s affected the value of many a nation’s currency. It’s cut off imports and exports, making some products very hard to get or expensive, if available.
Consequently, the most expensive cities in the world list for 2020 has changed significantly, according to the latest Cost of Living Index from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Paris and Zurich have now joined Hong Kong tied in top place for most expensive cities in the world, according to the latest index, which compared the prices of 138 goods and services from 130 cities and found that prices on average grew 0.3 per cent over the past year.
Singapore, Osaka and Hong Kong comprised the top three in the previous survey, but changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic saw the two European cities surge past Singapore and Osaka.
Destinations in Africa, the Americans and Eastern Europe became less expensive since March, mainly due to currency fluctuations.
Western Europe has not been so lucky, as the Euro has risen in value against the US dollar causing prices to rise.
Singapore fell to fourth in world rankings. Osaka and Tel Aviv are now tied for fifth place, and Geneva, New York City, Copenhagen and Los Angeles complete the top 10.
Australia’s highest entry, Sydney, is now the 15th most expensive city.
Perth was the biggest Aussie mover in the latest index, and one of the two biggest movers overall, moving up 12 places to 67th most expensive city in the world.
Only Tehran moved higher up the ladder than Perth – with US sanctions and subsequent price increases pushing the Middle Eastern city up 27 rungs to 79th place.
The cost of packaged goods, such as coffee, cheese, rice and orange juice, increased across most cities, but overall average prices for food and groceries remained flat.
Shortages of goods such as toilet rolls and pasta led to big overall price rises in some categories.
Tobacco and recreation were behind the biggest price increases, with clothing prices seeing the steepest decline.
For which goods did you most notice the cost increase during the pandemic?
If you enjoy our content, don’t keep it to yourself. Share our free eNews with your friends and encourage them to sign up.
Related articles:
https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/travel/news/most-expensive-coffee-in-the-world
https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/how-expensive-is-australia
https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/finance/news/most-expensive-cities-to-die-in
