Kyiv accounts for 132nd in ranking of 173 most expensive cities in the world
Kyiv returned to the ranking of the most expensive cities to live, taking 132nd place out of 173, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
According to their report, 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 in the study, prices in Kyiv were not taken into account in the calculation of average inflation.
The Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) survey was conducted by the EIU from August 14 to September 11, 2023, examining the prices of the most commonly used goods and services. In the world's largest cities, prices have increased by an average of 7.4% in local currencies over the past year. This is slightly slower than the 8.1% price increase in 2022, but significantly higher than the 2017-2021 trend.
Singapore and Zurich topped the ranking as the world's most expensive cities, overtaking New York and Geneva. 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, owing to sticky inflation in groceries and clothing along with appreciation of the region's currencies.
The cheapest city in the world is still Damascus (Syria). The Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg experienced the biggest drop in the ranking – by 105 positions to 142nd place and by 74 positions to 147th place, respectively.
The EIU examines more than 400 individual prices across 200 products and services in 173 cities.