Singapore and New York were ranked as the most expensive cities worldwide with an index of 100 out of a possible 100. Three of the 11 most expensive cities were in the United States, whereas two were in Switzerland.

Although consumers around the globe wish to help protect the environment in 2022, many of them feel the current cost of living prevents them from doing so. Specifically, about two-thirds of global consumers reported wanting to do more, but that the cost of living is preventative. This sentiment was felt most in countries like Brazil and India.

Damascus in Syria was ranked as the least expensive city worldwide in 2023, with an index score of 13 out of 100. The country has been marred by civil war over the last decade, hitting the country's economy hard. Other cities in the Middle East and North Africa such as Tehran, Tripoli, and Tunis are also present on the list. Buenos Aires is the Latin American city with the highest costs of living, as Argentina has recently faced an economic crisis and rapidly rising inflation. On the other hand, Singapore and Zurich were ranked the most expensive cities in the world.

A table comparing the cost of living in various European Union countries, including expenses for rent, utilities, food, and transportation in major cities

Ireland: Cost of living index, world average = 100: The latest value from 2021 is 175.68 index points, an increase from 157.19 index points in 2017. In comparison, the world average is 79.81 index points, based on data from 165 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 2017 to 2021 is 166.44 index points. The minimum value, 157.19 index points, was reached in 2017 while the maximum of 175.68 index points was recorded in 2021.

We use a dataset with prices and spending on consumer packaged goods matched at the barcode-level across the US and Mexico to measure the price index in Mexico relative to the US. Mexican prices relative to the US are 23% lower compared to the International Comparisons Project's (ICP) price index. We decompose the 23% gap into the biases from imputation, sampling, quality, and variety. Quality bias increases Mexican prices by 48%. Imputation, sampling, and variety bias lowers Mexican prices by 11%, 13%, and 33%, respectively.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

According to a consumer demand survey conducted by Capgemini Research Institute in late 2022, approximately seven in 10 consumers around the world expected companies to provide more discounts to help them purchase essential items to help them during the cost-of-living crisis. About two-thirds of shoppers also expected enterprises to forfeit any excess profits for the benefit of society. For more Capgemini insights, click here.

SIA203 - Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates...

Due to the increased interest in long term processes, coming from the field of growth and development theory, the author collects long series on real incomes. Without this information, growth theoretical assumptions cannot be tested. Concerning an index for real income that reaches back to the times before 1870, only the comprehensive investigations of Jürgen Kuczynski are available (cf. Kyczynski, J.: Die Geschichte der Lage der Arbeiter unter dem Kapitalismus, Teil I: Die Geschichte der Arbeiter in Deutschland von 1789 bis zur Gegenwart, Band 1 bis Band 4. Berlin 1961, 1962, 1962, 1967). The author sees a critical review of the underlying series on nominal income and costs of living as an occasion for an independent recalculation. Income is defined as the sum of hourly, daily, weekly and/or monthly wages within one year. Nominal income is given in absolute numbers in Mark, an index for the national income will be calculated using the basis year 1913. Furthermore an index for the costs of living for the period between 1810 and 1914 is calculated as well as an index for real income using the basis year 1913.

Variables: - Absolute nominal income in Mark (Gömmel,(1979)) - Nominal income index (1913 = 100)(Gömmel,(1979)) - Costs of living index (1913 = 100)(Gömmel,(1979)) - Real income index (1913 = 100)(Berechnung von Gömmel,(1979)) - Real income index after Kuczynski (1913 = 100) - Nominal income index after Kuczynski (1913=100) - Real wages index after Grumbach/König (1913 = 100) - Nominal income index after Grumbach/König (1913 = 100) - Real wages Orsagh-Index (1913 = 100)

Data tables in Histat: - Income and costs of living in Germany

SIA196 - Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates...

As of 2022, Israel had the highest price level index among listed countries, amounting to 138, with 100 being the average of OECD countries. Switzerland and Iceland followed on the places behind. On the other hand, Turkey and India had the lowest price levels compared to the OECD average. This price index shows differences in price levels in different countries. Another very popular index indicating the value of money is the Big Mac index, showing how much a Big Mac costs in different countries. This list was also topped by Switzerland in 2023.

SIA204 - Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates...

Visa's number of transactions for their credit cards were used only slightly more often at the end of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Although the absolute number of payment transactions kept increasing, the number of payments per account remained relatively unchanged. In Q1 2023, Visa credit cards are used in roughly 22 billion transactions. It is believed that credit cards have increasingly become popular to counter cost of living in countries like the United States. Note that the figures shown here are different from transaction number estimates on global general purpose cards as this ranking only shows credit card numbers.

The data were collected for the cross-European EUROSTUDENT VII study, forming the Finnish part of the survey. Main themes surveyed included economic circumstances and time use of students, progress in studies, international mobility, and future expectations and plans. The study was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. First, they were asked about the degree they were studying for, how active they were in their studies, what their future salary might be, and their beliefs and opinions about their future after graduation. Next, they were asked about previous studies, skills and jobs, participation in preparatory courses and applying for education. This was followed by questions about progress in studies and time spent studying and working. The next questions concerned the student's daily life in terms of living arrangements and employment. In addition, questions were asked about financial support, income and expenditure. Finally, questions were asked about possible study periods abroad and student mobility, as well as about the expectations and plans of foreign degree students regarding their studies and post-study period. Background variables included age (categorised), gender, sector and field of study (categorised), year of study, language skills and parents' level of education. In addition, information on whether the respondent and his/her parents were born in Finland and whether the respondent has children.

SIA206 - Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Impact of Cost of Living Measures on Income and Poverty Rates...

Luxembourg had the highest average monthly salary of employees in the world in 2024 in terms of purchasing power parities (PPP), which takes the average cost of living in a country into account. Belgium followed in second, with the Netherlands in third.

The objective of this survey is to gather information on tuition fees, living accommodation costs at residences/housing and additional compulsory fees paid by full-time university students at Canadian universities. Data are collected annually by questionnaire through the Registrar or the Business Office of universities. Survey results are available at the end of August. Data for undergraduate programs are available by institution, by province, by program and by type of students (Canadian or Foreign). Data for graduate programs are available by institution, by province and by type of students (Canadian or Foreign). Additional compulsory fees are available by institution, by province and by type (athletics, health services, student association, and other). Living accommodation costs at residence/housing are available by institution, by type of students (single or married) and by type of costs (room, meal plan,or both). For current TLAC data refer to Statistics Canada. Access data here

The current high cost of living was seen as the most important issue facing the European Union at the beginning of 2023. Nearly one in three had this as their most important issue. The current international situation was seen as the second most pressing issue, followed by energy supply.

In 2023, the U.S. GDP increased from the previous year to about 27.36 trillion U.S. dollars. This increase in GDP can be attributed to a continued rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all goods and services produced within a country. In 2023, the United States has the largest economy in the world. See, for example, the Russian GDP for comparison.

What is GDP? Gross domestic product is one of the most important indicators used to analyze the health of an economy. GDP is defined by the BEA as the market value of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States, regardless of nationality. It is the primary measure of U.S. production. The OECD defines GDP as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident, institutional units engaged in production (plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs).

GDP and national debt

Although the United States had the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world in 2022, this does not tell us much about the quality of life in any given country. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic measurement that is thought to be a better method for comparing living standards across countries because it accounts for domestic inflation and variations in the cost of living.

While the United States might have the largest economy, the country that ranked highest in terms of GDP at PPP was Luxembourg, amounting to around 141,333 international dollars per capita. Singapore, Ireland, and Qatar also ranked highly on the GDP PPP list, and the United States ranked 9th in 2022.