Vancouver tied with Montreal as 43rd most expensive city

Montreal and Vancouver are now costlier than many U.S. destinations, the Economist Intelligence Unit's worldwide cost of living survey showed yesterday.

In North America, "Canadian cities are now more expensive than all but the largest cities surveyed in the United States," the report said.

Of 16 U.S. cities in the survey only New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco were pricier than Montreal and Vancouver. The two Canadian cities tied for the 43rd spot, up from 46th in the last survey.

Toronto, Canada's largest city, placed 47th, up from 60th in the previous rankings.

In the past year, Reykjavik, Iceland, has seen the largest jump in the relative cost of living. Meanwhile the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo experienced the sharpest jump in the index's ranking amid an economic recovery across the region.

Back in 1991, the last time Tokyo was second in the world rankings, Tehran, the Iranian capital city, was the most costly city because of an overvalued official exchange rate. Tehran now sits at the bottom of the rankings.

The bi-annual survey, compiled by the London-based EIU, compares the cost of a basket of goods and services in U.S. dollar terms from over 130 cities worldwide. The survey provides guidance for the calculation of executive allowances.

Among other findings, despite decoupling the yuan from the U.S. dollar, Chinese cities have seen a fall in relative living costs.

The five most expensive cities in the world are Oslo; Tokyo; Reykjavik; Osaka, Japan; and Paris.

The five cheapest cities are Tehran; Manila, Philippines; Karachi, Pakistan; Mumbai, India; and Asuncion, Paraguay.

(prepared by Tavia Grant/Globe & Mail)

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WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES

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'06 Ranking '05 Ranking City Country
1 3 Oslo Norway
2 1 Tokyo Japan
3 8 Reykjavik Iceland
4 2 Osaka Japan
4 4 Paris France
6 5 Copenhagen Denmark
7 7 London Britain
8 6 Zurich Switzerland
9 8 Geneva Switzerland
10 10 Helsinki Finland

SOURCE: AFP