Hong Kong, Paris and Zurich are the world's most expensive cities, a new survey has found. Researchers looked at the prices of 138 products and services - including food, drink, clothing and household supplies in around 130 cities worldwide - to draw up the ranking of the most and least costly metropolises.
The Uzbek capital, Tashkent became the second cheapest city in the survey after Damascus, the capital of war-torn Syria, rated as the cheapest city in the world.
The ranking has been put together by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) as part of its 2020 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. It has conducted the survey for a second time this year to take into account Covid-19's impact on global prices and incomes.
The EIU says that Paris and Zurich have both moved up the ranking to the top spot from joint fifth due to the rise of the Euro and Swiss Franc against the US dollar, as well as the 'comparative decline in the cost of living in the two Asian cities that previously sat at the top of the table'.
This biggest mover in the ranking is Tehran, which jumps 27 places amid US sanctions, which have disrupted the supply of goods.
The EIU notes that the coronavirus pandemic has 'impacted spending habits all over the world, with the prices of essential goods proving more resilient than those deemed non-essential'.
The pandemic has transformed consumer behaviour, as lockdowns and trends such as working from home have increased the prices of consumer electronics and meal-at-home kits have taken the place of restaurant dining for middle-class families.
World's most expensive cities:
1= Zurich, Switzerland
1= Hong Kong
1= Paris, France
4. Singapore
5= Osaka, Japan
5= Tel Aviv, Israel
7. Geneva, Switzerland
8. New York City
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Los Angeles.
World's cheapest cities:
1. Damascus
2. Tashkent
3= Lusaka
3= Caracas
5. Almaty
6= Karachi
6= Buenos Aires
8. Algiers
9= Bangalore
9= Chennai
