Expatistan, an international cost of living calculator, released its latest Cost of Living Index results dated March 5, 2020 in which it compared 262 cities across the globe based on their index scores when benchmarked to that of Prague (Prague being therefore the “central reference city” with a score of 100). The assessment of a city’s cost of living takes into account the prices of a basket of goods and services categorized under Food, Housing, Clothes, Transportation, Personal Care, and Entertainment. In this context, Hamilton –Bermuda emerged as the most expensive city in the world with a Cost of Living Index score of 288, followed by Grand Cayman – Cayman Islands (score: 262), Mountain View, California – United States (score: 251), Geneva – Switzerland (score: 246), and New York City – United States (score: 245), only to name a few. The world’s least expensive cities, on the other hand, were Madras – India (score: 54), Hyderabad – India (score: 57), and Antalya – Turkey (score: 60).

On a regional basis, Doha – Qatar turned out to be the Middle East’s most expensive city when compared to Prague with an index score of 173 (thus ranking 41^st in the world), followed by Abu Dhabi – United Arab Emirates (score: 168; international rank: 44) and Dubai – United Arab Emirates (score: 166; international rank: 47).

As far as Lebanon is concerned, Beirut ranked 4^th out of 15 cities in the Middle East region and 75^th in the world with a Cost of Living Index score of 154. In fact, Beirut was considered as the most expensive city in the Middle East in the cost of one month of utilities (heating, electricity, gas...) for one person in a 45 m² (480 Sqft) studio, the most expensive city in terms of 2-in-1 hair shampoo, and the 2^nd most expensive city in the price of a 128 GB iPad. Beirut also came in as the most expensive city in the Middle East in terms of the cost of one minute of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans).