QCOSTARICA — San Jose, Costa Rica, went from 108th to 70th place in the ranking of the most expensive cities in the world according to the The Economist.
This earned the city recognition among the three cities that climbed the most positions, the other two being Santiago de Querétaro (from 99 to 51) and Aguascalientes (from 121 to 82), both in Mexico.
On the other hand, the biggest drop affects the Russian cities of Moscow (142) and Saint Petersburg (147), due to the depreciation of the ruble due to Western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine.
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The cheapest city according to the study is Damascus, just behind Tehran. The Argentine capital Buenos Aires appears at the bottom of the ranking as the tenth most economical city.
Zurich and Singapore are the most expensive cities in the world ahead of New York, according to the ranking.
The data is based on the most recent global cost of living survey carried out by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU, a sister company of The Economist, and confirms that inflation remains high around the world.
“The prices of 200 products and services it tracks increased an average of 7.4% over the past year. This is slightly lower than the 8.1% in 2022, but still well above the average of 2.9% of the previous five years,” says the publication.
“The cost of living crisis is far from over and price levels remain well above historical trends,” says Upasana Dutt, head of the study.
“We foresee a continuation of the slowdown in inflation in 2024,” argues the expert, based on the effect of the high interest rates set by numerous central banks to stop the increase in prices.
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The survey was carried out between August 14 and September 11, 2023 in the different categories that encompass the cost of living.
A strong appreciation of the Colon is also cited as a contriubuting factor in the high cost of living in San Jose.
The colon has appreciated against the U.S. dollar in recent months, on Tuesday reaching the lowest level so far this year.
In addition to the inflation already experienced by Costa Rica and the rest of the world, a stronger colon results in higher expenses for people visiting Costa Rica. The exchange rate causes visitors to get fewer resources for their dollars, resulting in more costly goods and services.
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For example, in August 2022, the dollar exchange was ¢630 colones per U.S. dollar, while currently the exchange rate is close to ¢540.
Other cities in Latin America, in addition to Santiago de Querétaro, Aguascalientes, and San José, which increased their cost of living the most in the last year were: Lima, Peru (8%), Bogotá, Colombia (7%), Buenos Aires, Argentina (7%), Mexico City, Mexico (6%) and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (5%).
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