Dublin cheaper than many major European cities, survey suggests

Despite constant grumbling over the soaring cost of living, an international survey conducted last spring suggests Dublin is still much cheaper than many other major European cities.

Research by the Economist Intelligence Unit on the cost of living in 133 cities around the world placed Dublin as the 22nd most expensive overall, and the 18th most expensive in Europe.

Dublin is less expensive than Paris, London and Amsterdam, but more expensive than New York and Rome.

In general, European cities have shot up the annual league table due to the weakness of the US dollar and the relative strength of the euro and other European currencies.

Paris moved from seventh place in the list last year to joint third place this year, making it the most expensive city in Europe and nearly as pricey as Tokyo, which remained the world's costliest destination.

The Iranian capital, Tehran, emerged as the cheapest city.

Oslo, which is in joint-third position, is outside the eurozone, as are Copenhagen, Zurich and London, which took fifth and joint sixth positions respectively.

Dublin moved up two places, from 24th to 22nd place, while other European cities also rose significantly in the rankings. They now dominate the top end of the table, with just five non-European cities in the top 25.

Portugal remained the cheapest eurozone country, with Lisbon 54th in the list.

Athens may be a very expensive city for the duration of the Olympic Games which opened last night, but for the remainder of the time it is the second cheapest eurozone city destination on the list.

Moscow (33rd) is the most expensive eastern European city.

With a cost of living of just over half that of New York, Romania's Bucharest (113th) is the cheapest city in Europe.

The bi-annual survey compares the cost of a representative basket of goods and services in dollar terms from over 130 cities worldwide.

The basket of goods showed that while Dublin was reasonably competitive in areas such as rent and staple food and drink products, the cost of luxury items was often significantly higher.

A bottle of table wine, for example, cost €7.99 in Dublin, compared to €3.75 in Paris, €6.39 in New York and €7.43 in London.

CDs in Dublin (€19.95) were also among the most expensive in the world, compared to New York (€13.14) and Tokyo (€14.15).

US cities continued to see a fall in the cost of living. New York fell 14 places to 27th over the 12 months, making it relatively cheaper than Australia's Sydney (14th) and Melbourne (18th).

Economic problems in Africa, Asia and Latin America saw many cities remain cheap.

Stabilisation in Argentina and Brazil failed to lift cities such as Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo out of the bottom 20.

Some of the biggest movers in the world were Australian cities. The strength of the Australian dollar and the aftermath of a spike in inflation caused by the 2000 introduction of a goods and services tax has seen a steady rise for Australian cities.

Both Sydney (14th) and Melbourne (18th) have entered the top 20 thanks to a strong currency despite being ranked 40th and 43rd respectively last year.

Hong Kong dropped out of the top 10 most expensive destinations into 12th place. Researchers said the pegging of the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar was the main reason for the fall. Hong Kong has occupied a top-five position since 1997.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's survey is aimed at providing companies with an independent guide from which allowances can be calculated for executives sent overseas.

All local prices are converted into dollars. If a currency strengthens or inflation pushes the price of goods up, the relative cost of living in that country will also rise.