Pakistan ranks ‘cheapest country to live in’

By Staff Reporter | The Express Tribune Aug 2, 2021

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 24.51, India 25.14 and Syria 25.31, according to cost of living index by GoBankingRatesCompany.

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.

The index confirms the stability in prices of daily commodities in Pakistan making living as the most affordable and cheapest in the world.

Contrary to it, worldwide, the prices of daily commodities spiraled 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 the 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.

Whereas in a corresponding report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (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 it, 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 major edible items on monthly basis as the world was still reeling under the impacts of Covid 19.

The GoBankingRatesCompany 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.


The cost of living is 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.

On the flip side, some nations have a very low cost of living, so many people are packing their belongings to move to these countries.

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