Western Europe dominates cost of living ranking, says Economist Intelligence Unit.

7 March 2007

London is the 4th most expenisve city in the world

 Western Europe dominates cost of living ranking, says the Economist Intelligence Unit.

A weak yen and continued inflation has knocked Tokyo off the top spot, surpassed by London (UK -4TH), Copenhagen (Denmark - 3rd), Paris (France - 2nd), and Oslo (Norway - 1st).

"The strength of European currencies plays a large part, but prices in Europe are also rising whereas those in Japan have been almost static", says Jon Copestake, the survey's editor.

A weak Icelandic Krona saw Reykjavik (Iceland - = 6th) fall by 17 percent relative to New York, however it still remains relatively costly. Zurich (Switzerland - = 6th), Frankfurt (Germany - =9th) and Helsinki (Finland - =9th) make up the rest of the top 10.

 The Netherlands faired well with Amsterdam coming in at equal 26th, exceeded by Brussels, Belgium at 20th. Barcelona, Spain moved up four places this year from 35th to 31st.

Those travelling on a budget in Europe can find good prices in Athens (Greece - 55th) and Lisbon (Portugal – 59th). Beyond the European Union (EU), Moscow is the most expensive location, even more so than New York. However, this trend was not followed by former Soviet Bloc countries with Almaty, Kazakhstan coming in at equal 111th and Tashkent (Uzbekistan – 120th), the cheapest in the region.

The Economist Intelligence Unit World Wide Cost of Living is a bi-annual survey comparing products and prices in over 130 cities across the globe, with an aim to providing an independent guide from which companies can calculate allowances for executives and their families being sent overseas.

Updated every June and December, the survey collects detailed information on the cost of more than 160 items, over 50, 000 individual prices in total.

[Copyright Expatica news 2007]