WORLD’S COSTLIEST CITIES IN 2019

Monica Malik, Chief economist atADCB

Ahmed Shaikhani, Managing director of Shaikhani Group

dubai — Thanks to a persistent decline in rents, reduced government fees and fines, and freezing of school fees, Dubai has become even more affordable in 2019 compared to the last year with rentals and prices of groceries and restaurants declining on a year-on-year basis.

According to the latest Cost of Living Index data by Numbeo, which collects databases about cities and countries worldwide, Dubai is rated as the 217th costliest city in the world in 2019 compared to 210th in the previous year — helped by a fall in inflation, a stronger dirham and a substantial increase in purchasing power of residents.

When compared to the world’s six costliest cities, Dubai was 53 to 58 per cent cheaper than the Swiss cities of Basel, Zurich, Lausanne, Bern, Geneva and Lugano, which were rated the costliest cities in the world, in terms of prices of groceries and restaurants. Base Zurich Lausanne Bern Geneva Lugano Stavanger Reykjavik Oslo New York