Cost of living in Beirut third highest among Arab cities

BEIRUT: The 2018 Cost of Living Index, produced by crowd-sourced global database Numbeo, ranked the cost of living in Beirut as the 299th highest among 540 cities around the world, as well as the third highest among 20 Arab cities, according to the Byblos Bank "Lebanon This Week" economic report.

Numbeo is a large database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide, the survey group provides current information on world-living conditions including cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution. The Belgrade-based service collects through crowd sourcing over four million prices in nearly seven thousand cities, entered independently by 444,256 contributors.

A short summary of Beirut expenses by Numbeo includes that the monthly cost of living for a four-person family is $2,756 without counting rent, and for a single person, the monthly cost of living is $756, not counting rent. Choosing items at random: a pair of Levis jeans (501s or similar) are $94.22; Nike running shoes are $118.80; the average monthly net salary (after tax); $1,085.36, while a meal at a mid-range restaurant for two runs on average $53.39.

Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index indicator encompasses the prices of consumer goods, including groceries, restaurants, transportation and utilities. The survey group benchmarks all indices against the iconic metropolis of New York City. It also issues a Rent Index, which is an estimation of apartment rents in a city compared to New York City rents. Numbeo relies on local residents' inputs and also uses data from official sources to compute the indices, LTW noted of the report's methodology.

According to the Cost of Living Index, consumer goods in Beirut are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi, Thessaloniki in Greece and Pensacola, Florida in the U.S., while they are less costly than Louisville in the States.

The posh resort city of Hamilton in Bermuda ranked as the most expensive city in the world, while Thiruvananthapuram in India came as the least expensive city globally. Beirut received a score of 65 points, which means that prices in Beirut are 35 percent lower than those in New York City.

Numbeo's Rent Index ranked Beirut in 140th place globally, in fourth place among Arab cities, and in second place to Shanghai in China among cities in UMICs. Globally, renting an apartment in Beirut is more expensive than in Salt Lake City in the U.S., Stuttgart in Germany and Kelowna in Canada; while it is less expensive than in Rotterdam and Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and in Vienna, LTW noted.

Further, Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi are the only Arab cities that have more expensive rents than Beirut. San Francisco has the highest apartment rents in the world, while rent in Valenzuela in the Philippines is the lowest globally. Lebanon received a score of 35 points on the index, which means that rent in Lebanon is 65 percent less expensive than in New York City.

Also, the Groceries Index, which is an estimate of grocery prices in a city compared to New York City, ranked Beirut in 350th place globally, in seventh place among Arab cities and in 22nd place among cities in Upper Middle Income Countries (UMICs).

Globally, groceries in Beirut are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Prague in the Czech Republic and Funchal in Portugal; while they are cheaper than in Santiago in Chile, Windhoek in Namibia and Quito in Ecuador. In addition, groceries in Beirut are less costly than in Dubai, Doha, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Amman among Arab cities. Lebanon received a score of 47.5 points, which means that groceries in Beirut are 52.5 percent less expensive than they are in New York City.

Finally, the Restaurant Index, which compares the prices of meals and drinks at restaurants and pubs relative to New York City, ranked Beirut in 240th place globally, in second place among Arab cities and in first place among cities in UMICs.

Globally, meals and drinks at restaurants and pubs in Beirut are more expensive than in Limassol in Cyprus, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Madison, Wisconsin in the U.S.; while they are cheaper than in Moncton in Canada, Larnaca in Cyprus and Darmstadt in Germany. Also, Dubai is the only Arab city with more expensive restaurants than Beirut.

The Lebanese capital received a score of 66.6 points on the index, which means that prices at restaurants and pubs in Beirut are 33.4 percent less expensive than they are in New York City.

Local shopping and dinning prices have been on the upswing after the recent increase in Lebanon's VAT, with increased costs varying at everywhere from mini-marts to eateries in line with the demands of a higher consumer tax.