While changes in the rand-dollar exchange rate has increased the cost of living in South Africa, Johannesburg and Pretoria remain cheaper places to live than most Western and Asian cities, the News 24 website reports.
The finding was based on the results of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) worldwide cost of living bi-annual survey — comparing the cost of a representative basket of goods and services in dollar terms.
About 130 cities worldwide were involved to provide guidance for the calculation of executive allowances, read the report posted on Tuesday.
”Johannesburg moved up more than 10 spots on the list of most expensive cities from 91 last year to 78, while Pretoria moved from 92 to 81, along with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Budapest in Hungary,” the report stated.
Johannesburg shared its spot with Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Warsaw in Poland. Meanwhile Pretoria was still half as expensive as Tokyo and cheaper than Prague and Mexico City.
”Tokyo remains the most expensive city to live in, but London showed a bigger rise in cost of living than in any other city surveyed,” the report states.
Iran’s capital, Tehran, remained the world’s cheapest city, with a cost of living at less than a third of that in New York.
”As the dollar continue to weaken, compared with New York, London has risen by 12 percentage points in relative cost of living terms to 121 — a bigger rise than in any other city surveyed,” News 24 quoted the EIU as saying.
There was no corresponding jump in London’s overall ranking, since the weak dollar had caused jumps across the Eurozone.
West European cities continued to dominate as the most expensive destinations, with 16 of the top 20 places, the report reads.
According to the EIU, the rapid rise in the euro was responsible for the rise in cost of living in most European countries, although the trend was not restricted to Eurozone cities.
”The strength of the euro has also served to pull up cheaper cities, with Lisbon, the cheapest Eurozone city, rising by 10 places to 60th in the ranking, with an index of 82.
”The stronger rand, which tracks the euro since the Eurozone is South Africa’s largest trading partner, has the same effect on South African cities.”
The EIU said the falling dollar, on the other hand, made it cheaper to live in US cities. – Sapa