Tel Aviv in Israel topped the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey rankings for the first time ever, making it the most expensive city in the world to live in.
Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the World
The Israeli city climbed from fifth place last year, pushing Paris down to a joint second place with Singapore. Tel Aviv’s rise mainly reflects its soaring currency and price increases for around one-tenth of goods in the city, led by groceries and transport, in local-currency terms.
Property prices (not included in the index calculation), have also risen, especially in residential areas.
The Worldwide Cost of Living dataset – that was released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) – allows direct city-to-city comparisons of the cost of living across 173 cities globally and is updated biannually.
Research showed that compared with other cities, Tel Aviv is a notably expensive place to buy alcohol (second in that category), transport (also second), personal care items (fifth) and recreation (sixth). It ranks in the top third for all ten of the group’s major spending categories, with its index score up by five points since last year.
The list of the most expensive cities in the world
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- Paris, France
- Singapore
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Hong Kong
- New York City, New York
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Los Angeles, California
- Osaka, Japan
Rome, Italy has seen the biggest drop in the rankings, falling from 32nd to 48th place, with a particularly sharp decline in its shopping basket and clothing categories.
As was the case in 2020, Tehran, Iran climbed the most in their rankings, jumping from 79th to 29th. The reimposition of United States sanctions on Iran has led to continued shortages of goods and rising import prices.
What about South Africa
As for South Africa, Johannesburg jumped 10 places in this year’s rankings to 104th making it one of the “biggest movers up the ranking in the last 12 months”.
Expatistan, a cost of living calculator that allows you to compare the cost of living between cities around the world, shows that the cost of living in Johannesburg is 49% cheaper than in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, the cost of living in Cape Town is 53% cheaper than in Tel Aviv.
The cheapest cities in the world
Among the cheapest cities is Damascus, Syria (173th), and Tripoli, Libya (172th) who are currently facing a number of economic and political challenges. Other cheap cities include Lusaka, Zambia (164th) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (164th).