Tel Aviv has become the World’s most Expensive City in 2021

Tel Aviv, the Zionist city in Israel has won the unenviable title of world’s most expensive city to live in, according to a newly released biannual report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The city jumped to the top of the list, from fifth place last year, for the first time ever, the EIU’s December 2021 worldwide cost of living index.

According to the EIU, Tel Aviv climbed up the rankings due to the rise in the Israeli currency.

The Israeli shekel was up 4% against the US dollar year-to-date early last month, which prompted prices on nearly one-tenth of goods to surge. Food and transportation costs were hit the hardest.

Last year’s leader – Paris – slipped to second, closely followed by Singapore.

Among other cities in the most expensive top 10 are, in succession, Zurich, Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, and Osaka. Rome dropped the furthest in the rankings, amid a decline in prices for food and clothing.

The fastest-rising city is the Iranian capital, Tehran, which jumped 50 places to number 29, amid shortages and price increases due to US sanctions. Damascus, in war damaged Syria was ranked the least expensive city in the survey.

Overall, the EIU survey shows that supply-chain bottlenecks, changes in consumer demand, and swings in currency exchange rates over the past year have increased the cost of living in many of the world’s largest cities, and analysts expect prices to rise further in the coming year.

The largest increase was recorded in transportation, with the average price of gasoline per liter up by 21%. The EIU’s survey assessed the cost of living across 173 global cities and compared the prices of over 200 everyday products and services.

Also, the inflation rate of the prices it tracked is currently the fastest recorded in the past five years, surging from 1.9% in 2020 to 3.5% year-on-year as of September 2021.

RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2021.