Analysis of the “Economist”: New York and Singapore most expensive

Energy prices and inflation have increased the cost of living in many cities around the world. According to a study, the most expensive places to live are in New York and Singapore. Moscow and St. Petersburg record the largest price jumps.

In New York and Singapore, life is one Evaluation of the British “Economist” according to the most expensive in the world. They share first place in the evaluation, followed by Tel Aviv, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. German cities are not in the top ten, with Zurich (6) and Geneva (7) being two Swiss cities.

According to the “Economist Intelligence Unit” (EIU), the costs have risen the most in the Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. They climbed 88 and 70 places in the ranking. Life has also become much more expensive in numerous US cities, even if they are still well behind New York. The three cheapest cities are Damascus in Syria, Tripoli in Libya and the Iranian capital Tehran.

The EIU study compares the cost of living in 172 cities based on prices for 200 products and services. The data from the period August 16 to September 16 was evaluated. The Venezuelan capital Caracas has been removed from the ranking due to hyperinflation that has been rampant for years.

Energy prices, inflation and Corona

According to the Economist, prices around the world have risen by an average of 8.1 percent more than they have in the last 20 years. This was mainly due to energy becoming more expensive and high inflation. In the USA, there was also the strong dollar exchange rate. The background to these developments is the war against Ukraine and the strict corona rules in China.

The EIU expects inflation to ease in the coming year. If the war in Ukraine does not escalate, the prices for energy, food and metals in particular will fall sharply.

With information from Peter Mücke, ARD Studio New York