DUBLIN: 16th most expensive world city

Dublin is the 16th most expensive city in the world, according to a survey of 130 published by the Economist Intelligence Unit yesterday.

The capital has become more expensive since the last survey, when it was ranked 21st in the world.

The most expensive city is Oslo, followed closely by Tokyo and Reykjavik, in Iceland.

Reykjavik has seen the largest jump in the relative cost of living over the last 12 months. The Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo also experienced a sharp jump in ranking following economic recovery across Latin America.

The biannual survey compares the cost of a representative basket of goods and services in dollars.

The cheapest city to live in is Tehran in Iran, which tumbled from its "most expensive" slot in 1991.

Manila in the Philippines and Karachi also offer value for money in terms of living costs, being placed second- and third-last.

The more developed western European cities make up the bulk of the most expensive cities in the world, with eight featuring in the top 10. Only one city from eastern and central Europe featured in the 30 most expensive destinations - Moscow, which was ranked 29th.

New York was the highest-ranked US city, in 27th place. A spokeswoman for the EIU said that the displacement of Tokyo at the top of the list was not surprising.