Amsterdam falls 8 spots on Economist’s most expensive cities list

Amsterdam dropped several places on a new ranking of the world’s most expensive cities produced by The Economist. The Dutch capital fell from eight spots, and was tied for 40th place with Düsseldorf on the 2021 World Cost of Living Index.

Tel Aviv topped the list for the first time ever, up from fifth place last year. The Israeli city’s rise was tied to the country’s “soaring currency,” and the rising costs of groceries and transportation. The Economist Intelligence Unit noted that property prices were also on the rise, though that was not a factor in their calculations. The survey data was collected between August 16 and September 21.

“Although most economies are now recovering as covid-19 vaccines are rolled out, the world’s major cities still experience frequent surges in cases, prompting renewed social restrictions. In many cities this has disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices,” the researchers said.

Paris and Singapore tied for second place, Zurich landed in fourth, and Hong Kong in fifth. The cost of living in New York is the benchmark for the study. The largest city in the United States ranked sixth.

At the estimated equivalent of $2.18 per liter, Amsterdam’s petrol prices were the second most expensive. This was still far cheaper than in Hong Kong, where petrol is priced at $2.50. Oslo ranked third at $2.06.

Out of the 173 cities studied, Damascus was considered the least expensive. “Damascus has easily retained its place as the cheapest city in the world to live in. It was ranked the lowest in seven of the ten pricing categories, and was among the lowest in the remaining three,” according to the study.

“The cheapest cities are mainly in the Middle East and Africa, or in the poorer parts of Asia.” Tripoli, Tashkent, Tunis, and Almaty rounded out the five cheapest cities in the world.

In 2020, Rome was tied with Amsterdam in 32nd place. It fell the most of any other city on the ranking, landing in 48th place this year.