Tel Aviv is the world's most expensive city to live in for the first time due to inflation surge: Paris and Singapore are joint second while London rises to 17th in annual rankings
Tel Aviv has overtaken Paris, Hong Kong, Zurich and Singapore to become the world's most expensive city to live in, according to a new survey.
The Israeli city climbed five places to score top spot for the first time in the authoritative ranking compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The Worldwide Cost of Living Index is compiled by comparing prices in US dollars for goods and services in 173 cities.
Tel Aviv (pictured) has overtaken Paris, Hong Kong, Zurich and Singapore to become the world's most expensive city to live in, according to a new survey
Paris fell from joint first place in the 2020 rankings compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit to joint second this year
Tel Aviv climbed the rankings partly due to the strength of the national currency, the shekel, against the dollar, as well as a huge inflation surge which has driven up prices for transport and groceries.
Paris and Singapore came joint second, followed by Zurich and Hong Kong. New York was in sixth, with Geneva in seventh.
Rounding off the top 10 were Copenhagen in eighth, Los Angeles in ninth and Osaka, Japan, in 10th.
London rose three places to 17th in the annual survey, while Sydney climbed one to 14th and Melbourne rose two to 16th.
Last year, the survey put Paris, Zurich and Hong Kong in joint first place.
On top of its overall ranking, Tel Aviv was named the second most expensive city in the world for alcohol and transport, fifth for personal care and sixth for recreation.
The Israeli city was placed in the top third in every one of the 10 major spending categories.
There were 40 new cities included in this year's rankings including Edinburgh which was the highest new entry at 27th, while San Diego and Stuttgart also entered the top 50.
Rome fell 16 places down the rankings to 48th thanks to a decline in the cost of groceries and clothing, while Tehran was the biggest climber, up 50 places to 29th after US sanctions were imposed.
Singapore (pictured) came in joint second place with Paris as the global pandemic saw a shake-up of the rankings
Zurich (pictured) rounded off the top four, with European and Asian cities dominating the top spots
Damascus was ranked the world's cheapest city to live in.
This year's data was collected in August and September as prices for freight and commodities rose and shows that on average prices rose 3.5 percent in local currency terms -- the fastest inflation rate recorded over the past five years.
Social restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic 'have disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices,' said Upasana Dutt, head of worldwide cost of living at The EIU.
'We can clearly see the impact in this year's index, with the rise in petrol prices particularly stark,' she said, while central banks are expected to raise interest rates cautiously, reducing inflation.
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