Kyiv has returned to the ranking of the most expensive cities to live in, ranking 132nd out of 173, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The report notes that in 2022, the Ukrainian capital was not included in the ranking due to Russian aggression, and in 2021 it ranked 118th. Due to the lack of data for 2022, prices in Kyiv were not included in the calculation of average inflation.
The World Cost of Living (WCOL) study was conducted by the EIU from August 14 to September 11, 2023, based on prices for the most commonly used goods and services. In the world’s largest cities, prices have risen by an average of 7.4% over the past year, in terms of local currencies. This is slightly slower than the 8.1% price increase in 2022, but significantly higher than the trends of 2017-2021.
Singapore and Zurich share the first and second places in terms of cost of living, while New York and Geneva take the third and fourth places. The top ten most expensive cities also include Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv and San Francisco. Western Europe accounts for four of the top ten most expensive cities in the ranking, due to persistent inflation and rising food and clothing prices, along with the appreciation of the euro and the region’s currencies.
Damascus (Syria) remains the cheapest city in the world. The Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg have seen the largest drops in their rankings – by 105 places to 142nd place and by 74 places to 147th place, respectively.
The EIU compares more than 400 price indicators for more than 200 products and services in 173 cities.
