Delhi, Mumbai among World's Cheapest Major Cities

Bangalore: The cost of living in the two major Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai is among the lowest in the world, said a UBS’ Prices and Earnings 2012 report. The prices for many goods and services were noted to be lowest in the two metropolises of Delhi and Mumbai. The survey further revealed that Oslo, Zurich and Tokyo are the most expensive cities in the world.

In terms of food price, in Asia, residents of Tokyo pay around five times more for the basket of food than the inhabitants of Mumbai. Food is the cheapest in the cities of Mumbai ($186) and Delhi ($208) and is most expensive in Tokyo ($928), Geneva ($715) and Zurich ($704).

Eating out in style was noted to be the cheapest in Delhi, Manama and Manila. In all three cities an evening meal in a good restaurant would cost just $18.

The expenditure for the reference basket of goods in Oslo amounted to $4,573 and is thus some 68 percent higher than the world average ($2,720) and three and a half times as high as in Delhi ($1,307), the cheapest city in comparison.

In Western Europe the entire basket of goods and services costs an average of $ 3,335 and is around 77 percent more expensive than in Africa and 57 percent more expensive than in Eastern Europe. Asia is the most heterogeneous region in terms of prices. The continent is represented at both extremes of the price list with Tokyo ranking high, and Delhi and Mumbai ranking low.