Support The Moscow Times!

Moscow Nose-Dives in Global Living Cost Rankings

Igor Ivanko / Moskva News Agency

Moscow’s cost-of-living ranking has plummeted over the past year in comparison to other cities worldwide, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey has found.

The decrease in living costs is linked to high inflation and currency deprivation, the survey reported.

The Russian capital has fallen 16 places from 86th to 102nd in the biannual ranking of 133 cities, making it one of the biggest movers down the ranking since March 2018.

However, a city's drop in the index does not necessarily mean the cost of living automatically gets cheaper for people living there, as prices often adjust to inflation faster than wages, said Gunes Cansiz of the World Resources Institute (WRI) think tank.

The ranking measures consumer prices in each city across 160 products and services including food, rent, utility bills and clothing.

More than 50,000 individual prices are collected in the survey, which is conducted each March and September.

Reuters contributed reporting to this article.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more