Tel Aviv Named World's Costliest City
2021-12-05
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1The Israeli city of Tel Aviv is the world's costliest place to live, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) research group says.
2The EIU released the results of its yearly "Worldwide Cost of Living Index" on Wednesday.
3The index is created by comparing prices in U.S. dollars for goods and services in 173 cities.
4The EIU uses 400 individual prices across 200 products and services to decide the world's costliest and least costly places.
5It is the first time Tel Aviv has held the index's highest position.
6Last year, it was in the sixth position.
7The Israeli city climbed the rankings partly because of the strength of its national money, the shekel, against the dollar.
8Other reasons were increases in prices for transportation and food.
9Singapore and Paris came in tied for second, followed by the Swiss city of Zurich and Hong Kong.
10Another Swiss city, Geneva, came in seventh.
11The rest of the top 10 costliest cities were Copenhagen, Denmark; Los Angeles, California; and Osaka, Japan.
12Last year, the EIU index named Paris, Zurich, and Hong Kong in a tie for first place.
13This year's data was collected in August and September as prices for goods rose.
14The EIU found that, on average, prices rose 3.5 percent in local currency terms.
15That is the fastest inflation rate recorded over the past five years.
16Social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic "have disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices," said Upasana Dutt.
17She is head of worldwide cost of living at the EIU.
18"We can clearly see the impact in this year's index," Dutt added.
19The average inflation number does not include four cities with exceptionally high rates.
20Those cities are Caracas, Venezuela; Damascus, Syria; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Tehran, Iran.
21Damascus was ranked the world's least costly city to live in.
22Tehran, Iran's capital, rose from 79th to 29th in the rankings this year.
23The sharp rise -- the biggest of any city -- is due to financial punishments by the United States.
24Those sanctions have led to higher prices and caused shortages.
25Rome, Italy saw the biggest drop in the rankings. It fell from 32nd place last year to 48th place this year.
26I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The Israeli city of Tel Aviv is the world's costliest place to live, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) research group says. 2The EIU released the results of its yearly "Worldwide Cost of Living Index" on Wednesday. The index is created by comparing prices in U.S. dollars for goods and services in 173 cities. The EIU uses 400 individual prices across 200 products and services to decide the world's costliest and least costly places. 3It is the first time Tel Aviv has held the index's highest position. Last year, it was in the sixth position. The Israeli city climbed the rankings partly because of the strength of its national money, the shekel, against the dollar. Other reasons were increases in prices for transportation and food. 4Singapore and Paris came in tied for second, followed by the Swiss city of Zurich and Hong Kong. Another Swiss city, Geneva, came in seventh. 5The rest of the top 10 costliest cities were Copenhagen, Denmark; Los Angeles, California; and Osaka, Japan. 6Last year, the EIU index named Paris, Zurich, and Hong Kong in a tie for first place. 7This year's data was collected in August and September as prices for goods rose. The EIU found that, on average, prices rose 3.5 percent in local currency terms. That is the fastest inflation rate recorded over the past five years. 8Social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic "have disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices," said Upasana Dutt. She is head of worldwide cost of living at the EIU. 9"We can clearly see the impact in this year's index," Dutt added. 10The average inflation number does not include four cities with exceptionally high rates. Those cities are Caracas, Venezuela; Damascus, Syria; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Tehran, Iran. 11Damascus was ranked the world's least costly city to live in. 12Tehran, Iran's capital, rose from 79th to 29th in the rankings this year. The sharp rise -- the biggest of any city -- is due to financial punishments by the United States. Those sanctions have led to higher prices and caused shortages. 13Rome, Italy saw the biggest drop in the rankings. It fell from 32nd place last year to 48th place this year. 14I'm Ashley Thompson. 15The Agence France-Presse wrote this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 16____________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18index - n. an ordered list 19currency - n. the money that a country uses 20disrupt - v. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way 21impact - n. a powerful or major influence or effect