Bengaluru, Karachi cheapest cities to live in: Economist Intelligence Unit

The EIU’s 2015 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey released Tuesday showed fi ve of the six cheapest cities surveyed are in Pakistan and India. Bengaluru and Chennai are new additions in the survey, with both also refl ecting the structurally low prices enjoyed on the subcontinent. Among the costliest cities, the rankings of the top fi ve — Singapore, Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney — remained unchanged in the bi-annual survey.

Hong Kong and Seoul are the other Asian cities that make up the Top 10, even as defl ation and a devaluation of the Japanese yen have dragged Tokyo and Osaka lower. The reports said although India has been tipped for future growth, much of this is driven by its large population and the untapped potential within the economy.



Income inequality means that low wages proliferate, driving down household spending and creating many tiers of pricing that keep spending per head low. This, combined with a cheap and plentiful supply of goods into cities from rural producers with short supply chains, as well as government subsidies on some products, has kept prices down, especially by Western standards, the survey added.