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Oslo is world's most expensive city - survey
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-31 19:20
After 14 years ranked as the most expensive city in the world for
expatriates, Tokyo has been knocked off the top spot by Norway's capital Oslo, a
survey showed on Tuesday.
The biannual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) compares the
cost of goods and services in dollar terms. The rise of Oslo and other European
cities partly reflects the long-term underperformance of the U.S. currency.
Iceland's capital Reykjavik jumped to third place ahead of Japan's Osaka and
eight of the top 10 cities are in Europe. New York, the highest-ranked U.S.
city, slipped to 27th place.
"The displacement of Tokyo comes as little surprise. A gradually weakening
yen has been compounded by years of low inflation and deflation in the Japanese
economy," the EIU said.
"Norway has seen strong economic growth following a recovery in 2004,
enjoying high consumer confidence, rampant investment and still-low interest
rates."
Several eastern European countries also became more expensive. The main
cities in Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic
and Turkey all saw a relative increase of more than 5 percent in the cost of
living.
In Latin America, the two biggest jumps came in Brazil, with Rio de Janeiro
and Sao Paulo climbing 22 places to joint 87th on the back of a 25 percent rise
in the currency and rising consumer prices.
Iran's capital Tehran, the city ousted from top spot by Tokyo 14 years ago
after its currency was revalued, remains the cheapest of the 130 cities ranked
worldwide by the EIU.
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