It isn’t cheap to rock a frock in Dubai, but new cars make up for it
Dubai is the most expensive place in the world to buy a summer dress and surf the internet, according to a global report. Deutsche Bank’s annual Mapping the World’s Prices outlines the costs of a range of goods and services to rank the cost of living in 50 cities relevant to global financial markets.
According to the 2018 survey, it costs US$85 (Dh312) to pay for 8Mbps internet speed per month in Dubai – a slight decline from last year.
The cheapest place is Russia, where it will cost you just $7 for the same speed, according to the report.
A summer dress in a high street store such as Zara or H&M will cost you $61, slightly more than it did last year, at $58. The cheapest location was Indonesia, where it costs just $28.
It will come as no surprise to many that living in Dubai is on the more expensive side when it comes to renting property.
A mid-range, two-bedroom apartment costs an average of $1,787, placing the city 14th on the list of 50 cities.
The cheapest city on the list is Bangalore in India, where it costs just $289 a month for a mid-range property, the ranking shows.
But on the positive side, Dubai is on the cheaper side to buy items such as a new midsized car, at 37th on the list.
Taxi fares placed the city in 37th place, and the cost for a litre of petrol put it in 47th position.
The survey suggests Dubai residents earn a decent income, with the average monthly salary at $3,447 (Dh12,660), placing the city ninth overall in the ranking of 50 cities.
Zurich, San Francisco and New York City came out on top.
People living in Dubai also tend to have more disposable income after paying for their rent, with an average household surplus of $2,554 for two people working, placing the city ninth on the list.
The city was ranked 18th overall in terms of quality of living – scoring particularly highly in terms of safety (third) and property to income ratio (third).
But it was predictably let down by its climate likeability – scoring last, in 49th place.