Staff Report
KARACHI: Karachi has ranked 6th among the affordable cities worldwide, as per the Worldwide Cost of Living 2022 (WCOL), Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking report.
Tripoli in Libya and Damascus in Syria are among the cheapest cities in the world. Both face several economic and political challenges. And Karachi comes in sixth. But if you ask people living in Karachi, they will tell you how the inflation rate has increased.
The most worldwide cost of living
According to the most recent Worldwide Cost of Living 2022 (WCOL) study, prices have increased by an average of 8.1% in local currency in the world’s largest cities over the past year. This rate is the fastest in the last 20 years. It indicates a crisis in the cost of living. These crises are mainly brought about by the conflict in Ukraine and maintaining restrictions on COVID-19.
As per the report, New York tops the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking report for the first time, Singapore in second, which is back in position for the eighth time in the last ten years. Together, the two have moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, which took first place last year and is now in third position. Of the 172 cities surveyed. The report also mentioned that Inflation has been very high in Tehran, located in Iran; Buenos Aires, which is in Argentina; and Istanbul, which is in Turkey.
However, Venezuela’s Caracas has the greatest inflation rate, where Worldwide Cost of Living 2022 (WCOL) costs have increased by 132% since last year. As per the report, the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow have moved up the most in rankings, rising to 70 and 88 spots, respectively. Import restrictions, Capital controls, and converting European gas payments into rubles support the local currency’s value.
Western sanctions were introduced when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which also increased local costs and inflation. The inflation in local currency terms is currently 19.4% in St. Petersburg and 17.1% in Moscow. The price of gasoline has seen a fast rise in the Worldwide Cost of Living 2022 (WCOL) index. The average increase in electricity and gas prices is 29%. Home items and food prices have also increased.
