ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been ranked as ‘the cheapest country in the world to live in’ with a cost of living index showing 18.58, followed by Afghanistan, India and Syria.
According to the cost of living index by GoBankingRates Company, Pakistan is the cheapest country to live in, with a cost of living index of 18.58. This is followed by Afghanistan 24.51, India 25.14, and Syria 25.31.
Several organisations have used statistics to determine the cheapest countries to live in. One of these companies is GoBankingRates and the company uses four metrics to determine which countries are the most affordable.
The metrics used include rent index, local purchasing power index, consumer price index, groceries index and information compiled is compared to the cost of living in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Pakistan has been ranked as the most affordable and cheapest in the world. On the contrary, yhe the prices of daily commodities worldwide spiralled impacting the most thriving economies of the world amidst coronavirus pandemic which resulted in tumbling down of income per capita and steep rise in the daily inflation.
According to US Department of Agriculture’s latest report, the global food supplies are expected to grow in 2021-22 and so the prices of daily commodities, driven by strong demand and supply shortfalls.
A corresponding report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projected that world food prices were set to rise on monthly basis. The FAO’s food price index measured monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.
According to the report, the vegetable oil price index jumped due to rising palm, soy and rapeseed oil quotations. Palm oil prices were boosted by slow production growth in Southeast Asia, while prospects of robust global demand, especially from the biodiesel sector, drove up soy oil prices.
The sugar index also posted a 6.8% month-on-month gain, due to harvest delays and concerns over reduced crop yields in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter, FAO said.
The FAO also noted similar rising trends in the prices of almost all major edible items on a monthly basis as the world was still reeling under the impacts of COVID-19.
The index further said on the opposite end, the most expensive countries to live in are the Cayman Islands 141.64, Bermuda 138.22, Switzerland 122.67, and Norway 104.49. All four of these countries have a higher cost of living than New York City.
The cost of living in the money needed to sustain a certain comfort level in a location and covers basics like housing, groceries, taxes, and healthcare. Some countries have a very high cost of living, particularly in areas surrounding large cities as in the United States, cities like New York and San Francisco have a very high cost of living.
