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Copenhagen ranked one of world’s most expensive cities to live

Copenhagen is in the top ten of the world's priciest cities to live in – and the fourth-most expensive city in Europe, according to a global study.

Published: 19 March 2019 13:04 CET
Copenhagen ranked one of world’s most expensive cities to live
File photo: Anne Bæk/Ritzau Scanpix

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) annual Worldwide Cost of Living report named Copenhagen as the joint seventh-most expensive city in the world, up one place from its 2018 ranking and two higher than in 2017, when it was ranked ninth.

The Danish capital was one of four European cities and only three European countries to feature in the top 10. Paris was ranked joint first and the only eurozone city in the top ten, with Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva in joint fifth.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul, New York, Tel Aviv and Los Angeles were the other cities in the top ten.

Copenhagen is one of the “usual suspects” in the annual list, the report said, with the average price of a 1kg loaf of bread found to be $4.21 (27 kroner) and a typical women's haircut costed at $176.63 (1,150 kroner).

The Danish capital, which pegs its currency to the euro, owes its place high on the list to “relatively high transport, recreation and personal care costs,” according to the report.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, which carried out the research, said it was the first time in the more than three decades of the survey that three cities were equally ranked top, after Singapore led the chart outright a year earlier.

Currency appreciation, inflation and devaluation as well as political upheaval played a part in this year's rankings, said EIU, which surveyed 133 cities worldwide.

It compared 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, including food and drink, clothing, home rental, transport, schooling and recreation.

The survey is aimed at helping companies calculate compensation packages and allowances for expatriate staff and business travellers.

Caracas replaced Damascus as the world's cheapest city amid a power struggle in Venezuela that has plunged the country into a deepening crisis.

“As Damascus and Caracas show, a growing number of locations are becoming cheaper because of the impact of political or economic disruption,” the report said.

Asia's economic divide was underscored, with cities including Bangalore (129th), Karachi (127th), Chennai (125th) and New Delhi (123rd) ranking near the bottom.

READ ALSO: Denmark is most expensive EU country for consumer goods

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ENERGY

EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The cost of energy is expected to rise again this coming winter, even though the government's price cap is supposed to be in effect until April 2024. Here's what households can expect.

Published: 31 October 2023 10:31 CET
Updated: 5 November 2023 22:45 CET
EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The onset of winter will raise concerns for many in Germany about the cost of heating their homes, with memories of last year’s rocketing prices and concerns over domestic gas supply resurfacing. 

But, compared to last year, the energy prices have now largely stabilised, though they are still higher than in 2021.

The stabilisation in prices is partly thanks to the government’s energy price cap which came into force earlier this year to cushion the blow of soaring energy prices by capping electricity costs at 40 cents per kilowatt-hour and natural gas at 12 cents.

READ ALSO: Germany looks to extend energy price cap until April 2024

The federal government plans to maintain this cap until the end of April, though this could be extended even longer, if necessary. 

How high are heating costs expected to go this year?

For the current year, experts from co2online expect somewhat lower heating costs than last year.

Heating with gas, for example, is expected to be 11 percent cheaper in 2023 than in 2022, costing €1,310 per year for a flat of 70 square metres. 

The cost of heating with wood pellets will drop by 17 percent to €870 per year, and heating with heating oil will cost 19 percent less and amount to €1,130.

According to co2online, the costs for heating with a heat pump will drop the most – by 20 percent to €1,1105. The reason for this, according to co2online, is a wider range of heat pump electricity tariffs.

Tax hikes in January

Starting January next year, the government will raise the value-added tax on natural gas from seven to nineteen percent.

Alongside this, the CO2 price, applicable when refuelling and heating, will also increase.

According to energy expert Thomas Engelke from the Federal Consumer Association, these increases will mean that a small single-family household with three or four people that heats with gas would then pay about €240 more per year for gas.

“That’s a lot”, he said. 

Another additional cost factor to consider is that network operators also want to raise prices. However, the federal government plans to allocate €5.5 billion to cushion this increase for consumers as much as possible, so how such cost increases will ultimately affect consumers is currently hard to estimate.

READ ALSO: Why people in Germany are being advised to switch energy suppliers

Overall, it can be said that, from January, consumers will have to brace themselves for higher energy costs, even though massive increases are currently not expected.

Consumer advocate Engelke advised customers to closely examine where potential savings could be made this upcoming winter: “Those who are now signing a new gas or electricity contract should inform themselves and possibly switch. Currently, you can save a few hundred euros. It’s worth it. On the other hand, you should also try to save as much energy as possible this winter.”

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