All over the world, it’s been a tough year on wallets.
Supply-chain blockages and changing consumer demand have pushed up the cost of living in many of our biggest cities, according to new research published Wednesday, and inflation is the fastest recorded over the past five years.
One city has been experiencing more rapid change than most, jumping from fifth place to first in this year’s Worldwide Cost of Living index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The Israeli city of Tel Aviv topped the rankings for the first time, overtaking last year’s leader Paris, which is now tied in second place with Singapore.
The EIU attributes Tel Aviv’s sharp rise on the index to increases to grocery and transport prices and the strength of the Israeli shekel against the US dollar.
The index is benchmarked against prices in New York City, hence cities with currencies that are stronger against the US dollar are likely to appear higher in the rankings.
Zurich and Hong Kong are at Nos. four and five respectively, having held the top spot last year alongside Paris. New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka round up the rest of the top 10.
I – Word Understanding
Supply chain blockages – slow, difficult or impossible flow of supply
Inflation – a general increase in prices, lower purchasing power of money
Shekel – monetary unit of Israel
Benchmarked – evaluate something by comparison with a standard
II – Have Your Say
1, Do you feel that the cost of living in your city has gone up? If so, provide examples. How do you feel about it?
2, In this Worldwide Cost of Living index, Osaka is at No. 10 while Tokyo is at 13th place. What do you think makes Osaka more expensive than Tokyo?
3, What’s the most expensive city that you’ve lived or visited? Share your experience.
