Istanbul among the least expensive cities in Europe

Istanbul is listed as the third least expensive European city in which to live, according to The Economist Intelligence Un it’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 report. Turkey ranked

72nd globally, above Lisbon and Athens which shared 86th place in the global ranking, and shared the honor of Europe’s cheapest cities. It also explains why Turks are more interested in Greece and Athens as popular holiday dest The report has been conducted for five consecutive years and compares the costs of more than 150 items n 133 cities around the world, where New York is the benchmark city.

In 2018, Singapore was listed as the world’s most expensive city for the fifth consecutive year in a top 10 that is largely split between Asia and Europe. Singapore was 16 percent more expensive than New York.

Half of the ten most expensive cities n the world are based in Europe, with Paris, Zurich and Oslo among the ten priciest. As an cities remain among both the most expensive and the cheapest cities in th is year’s survey.

Syri a’s capital of Damascus props up the ranki ng, having fallen 14 places to the last

position in the past 12 months. Istanbul also fell by 10 places in the same per od but outperformed several others like Ch cago that fell 14 places. Washington DC, the capital of the U.S., fell 10 places like Istanbul in the last year, however it stood at 37th place in the ranking, whilst Chicago at 41st place.

The reason for Istanbul’s move down the ranking could be attributable to the currency fluctuations, wh ch the report also underlined as a major cause for changes in the ranki ng.

The cheapest cities at the bottom 10 are listed as Damascus, Caracas, Almaty, Lagos, Bangalore, Karachi , Algiers, Chenna , Bucharest and New Delhi . Instabilty s becoming an increasingly prominent factor in lowering the relative cost of living of a location, the report noted. It also emphasized that there s some correlation between The Economist Intelligence Unit’s cost of living ranking and its sister ranking, the liveabilty survey. Put simply, cheaper cities also tend to be less liveable.

In addition to Damascus’ drop n the past 12 months, Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent fell by 35 places and Cairo by 22.