Advertisement
New Zealand markets closed
  • NZX 50

    11,796.21
    -39.83 (-0.34%)
     
  • NZD/USD

    0.5892
    -0.0013 (-0.22%)
     
  • NZD/EUR

    0.5523
    -0.0022 (-0.39%)
     
  • ALL ORDS

    7,817.40
    -81.50 (-1.03%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,567.30
    -74.80 (-0.98%)
     
  • OIL

    83.24
    +0.51 (+0.62%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,406.70
    +8.70 (+0.36%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    17,037.65
    -356.67 (-2.05%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,895.85
    +18.80 (+0.24%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    37,986.40
    +211.02 (+0.56%)
     
  • DAX

    17,737.36
    -100.04 (-0.56%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,224.14
    -161.73 (-0.99%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    37,068.35
    -1,011.35 (-2.66%)
     
  • NZD/JPY

    91.0710
    -0.1830 (-0.20%)
     

REVEALED: World's most expensive cities in 2021 (and cheapest)

Paris has been pushed out of the number one spot as the world's most expensive city, with Israel's Tel Aviv officially on top for 2021.

A report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit revealed the most (and least) expensive cities to live in worldwide.

According to the Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) index, increases in grocery and transport prices and the strength of the Israeli shekel against the US dollar are the reasons behind the Israeli's city jump from fifth to first place.

Tel Aviv is the world's most expensive city. Source: Getty
Tel Aviv is the world's most expensive city. Source: Getty (Getty Images)

Cost of living expected to rise

According to the report, supply-chain problems — as well as exchange-rate shifts and changing consumer demand — have led to rising prices for commodities and other goods.

ADVERTISEMENT

WCOL looked at 173 global cities — 40 more than last year — and looked at 400 prices for more than 200 everyday products and services.

Data is gathered by EIU's global team of researchers every March and September and all cities are compared with a base city, New York City, which has an index score of 100 and the price data converted into US dollars.

The report found that on average, the prices of prices for goods and services have risen by 3.5 per cent year on year in local-currency terms in 2021, compared with an increase of just 1.9 per cent at the same time last year.

Paris is tied with Singapore for the second most expensive city in the world. Source: Getty
Paris is tied with Singapore for the second most expensive city in the world. Source: Getty (Getty Images)

The most rapid increases in the WCOL index were for transport, with the price of a litre of petrol up by 21 per cent on average

"Over the coming year, we expect to see the cost of living rise further in many cities," the report reads.

"Inflationary expectations are also likely to feed into wage rises, further fuelling price rises.

"If supply-chain disruptions die down and lockdowns ease as expected, then the situation should improve towards the end of 2022, stabilising the cost of living in most major cities."

Ten most expensive cities in the world

  1. Tel Aviv, Israel

  2. Paris, France (tie)

  3. Singapore, Singapore (tie)

  4. Zurich, Switzerland

  5. Hong Kong* China ,

  6. New York, USA

  7. Geneva, Switzerland

  8. Copenhagen, Denmark

  9. Los Angeles, USA

  10. Osaka, Japan

Ten cheapest cities in the world

  1. Damascus, Syria

  2. Tripoli, Libya

  3. Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  4. Tunis, Tunisia

  5. Almaty, Kazakhstan

  6. Karachi Pakistan

  7. Ahmedabad, India

  8. Algiers, Algeria

  9. Buenos Aires, Argentina

  10. Lusaka, Zambia

The ten most expensive cities for petrol

  1. Hong Kong, China

  2. Amsterdam, Netherlands

  3. Oslo, Norway

  4. Tel Aviv, Israel

  5. Hamburg, Germany

  6. Athens, Greece

  7. Rome, Italy

  8. Stockholm, Sweden

  9. Reykjavik, Iceland

  10. Finland, Helsinki

Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to the free Fully Briefed daily newsletter.