Cost of living in Beirut remains high despite crippling economic crisis

EuroCost International’s 2020 cost-of-living survey for expatriates ranked Beirut in fourth place globally and the most expensive regionally.

The survey attributed the elevated cost of living in Beirut to the high rental rates in the capital while noting that the city’s ranking fell by by one spot year-on-year.

It added that the economic crisis that the country is currently facing could affect the ranking in the very short term.

The survey said the cost of living is particularly high for expatriates in the Lebanese capital, specifically as a result of high rents in the secure zones. In recent months, strong monetary instability and rising inflation have also been apparent.

The survey compares the cost of living for expatriates in major locations worldwide. It includes rental costs, but it excludes the cost of healthcare and education costs.

It revealed that the cost of living for expatriates in Beirut is lower than only the cost of living in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Geneva.

The survey attributed the significant changes in the rankings to exchange rate fluctuations, especially the weakening of the US dollar against the euro.

Another survey, the 2021 Cost of Living Index produced by Numbeo, also ranked Beirut as the most expensive among 26 Arab cities and 57th among 598 cities around the world.

The cost of living in the city was higher than about 90 percent of cities covered by the survey compared to only 58 percent in the previous year.

According to Numbeo, consumer goods in Beirut are more expensive than in New Jersey in the United States, the Gold Coast in Australia and Breda in the Netherlands. Beirut received a score of 83.6 points, which means that prices in Beirut are 16.4 percent lower than those in New York City.

Beirut also received a score of 25.4 points on the rental sub index, which means that rent in Beirut is 74.6 percent less expensive than in New York City.