Switzerland tops global cost of living study

The conclusion is based on data collected by Numbeo, which bills itself as the world’s largest database of user-contributed data on costs and prices around the world.

The report gives Switzerland a consumer price index of 126.03, using costs in New York City as basis of comparison at 100.

Norway ranks second at 118.59 followed by Venezuela (11.51), Iceland (102.14) and Denmark (100.6).

India is ranked as the country with the world’s lowest consumer prices (26.27), followed by Nepal (28.85), Pakistan (30.71), Tunisia (34.06) and Algeria (34.10).

The consumer price index calculated by Numbeo takes into account the cost of groceries, transportation, restaurants and utilities.

The data was totted up before the Swiss National Bank last week abandoned efforts to stop the Swiss franc from appreciating against the euro after holding the line at 1.20 for more than three years.

The franc subsequently rose by more than 20 percent against the euro and jumped against the US dollar, making the cost of living even higher.

The latest Numbeo report shows Switzerland has the highest cost for groceries but its “rent index” indicates Singapore and Luxembourg have higher costs for rental accommodation.

When the cost of living and rent indices are taken together, Switzerland is ranked number one, followed by Singapore and Norway.

The Norwegians come tops for most expensive restaurants, ahead of  Switzerland and Denmark. 

The report also shows that the level of costs in Switzerland is offset by high wages.

The Swiss top the “local purchasing power index” with a score of 146.51 (against a base of 100 in New York), ahead of Saudi Arabia (126.19) and the United States (126.09).

An interesting map from MoveHub reveals living costs around the world.