Sofia Climbed 29 Positions in the World Ranking of the most Expensive Cities

Sofia climbed sharply up the list of the most expensive cities in the world, compiled annually by the analyst unit of the Economist magazine. In the ranking for 2018, the Bulgarian capital has climbed 29 positions to 90th place and is the second in the pace of increase of prices of life, reports Dnevnik. 

Ahead of Sofia is only Noumea from New Caledonia, which has climbed 33 positions to 20th in the world. But the main reason for this climb in the capital of this French colony is the absence of competition in the commercial sector, dominated by a handful of companies.

The comment of Economist Intelligence Unit for Sofia is that prices in supermarkets are starting to equalize with those in Western Europe, expecting the country to adopt the euro in the next few years. Especially the food inflation rate was 2.6% as of December 2018, as one of the main reasons for the overall inflation rate of 3% last year. For the year 2018, electricity, gas, steam and water prices, as well as increased entertainment and cultural events, are rising (around 4%).

The ranking is based on the cost of living, covering the prices of over 400 products and services. This includes food, beverages, clothing, household appliances, cosmetics, home rentals, transportation, overhead charges, private school fees and home helpers, and how much they pay for a standard visit to a restaurant, cinema, theater.

Cities are ranked according to both the data for the last year and how their position has changed for the past 5 and 10 years. Consideration has been given to the exchange rate of the national currency, local inflation, and the effect on the world of rising commodity prices. Separately, trends in Europe, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region, Africa...