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Is Greece expensive?
Athens is the 25th most expensive city in the world, according to the Mercer 2008 Cost of Living Survey of 143 cities. The Greek capital is getting more expensive, moving up four places from last year, while notoriously expensive cities such as London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, New York and Geneva saw the cost of living go down.
Amsterdam and Athens are now tied in cost of living, though the Netherlands fares better than Greece in quality of living (#12 vs. #77) and offers double the minimum salary (1301€ vs. 668€).
Mercer performs this comprehensive cost analysis of more than 200 factors that include housing, transportation, food, clothing, entertainment and common household products in 250 locations. Semi-annual surveys are conducted by professional researchers simultaneously, and vendors are carefully chosen where goods and services of international quality are offered to maintain equality and fairness.
Some claim this survey is inaccurate in calculating costs, however local residents and expatriates patronize the same stores, eat the same food and use the same hospitals, utilities and public/private services.
In Greece, prices can actually be more expensive in rural locations and islands in comparison to Athens due to transportation, fuel costs and lack of competition; locally grown produce is also not guaranteed to be lower than imports. Thus, the cost of living can actually be higher and salaries often lower than for those residing in a metropolis.
See “Cost of Living in Greece vs. the world 2009” to see the latest.
Top 50 Most Expensive Cities 2008
1. Moscow, Russia
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. London, UK
4. Oslo, Norway
5. Seoul, Korea
6. Hong Kong, China
7. Copenhagen, Denmark
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Zurich, Switzerland
10. Milan, Italy
11. Osaka, Japan
12. Paris, France
13. Singapore
14. Tel Aviv, Israel
15. Sydney, Australia
16. Dublin, Ireland (tie)
16. Rome, Italy (tie)
18. St. Petersburg, Russia
19. Vienna, Austria
20. Beijing, China
21. Helsinki, Finland
22. New York City, USA
23. Istanbul, Turkey
24. Shanghai, China
25. Amsterdam, Netherlands (tie)
25. Athens, Greece (tie)
25. Sao Paulo, Brazil (tie)
28. Madrid, Spain
29. Prague, Czech Republic
30. Lagos, Nigeria
31. Barcelona, Spain (tie)
31. Rio de Janiero, Brazil (tie)
31. Stockholm, Sweden (tie)
34. Douala, Cameroon
35. Warsaw, Poland
36. Melbourne, Australia
37. Munich, Germany
38. Berlin, Germany
39. Brussels, Belgium
40. Frankfurt, Germany
41. Dakar, Senegal
42. Kiev, Ukraine
43. Luxembourg
44. Almaty, Kazakhstan
45. Bratislava, Slovakia
46. Dusseldorf, Germany (tie)
46. Riga, Latvia (tie)
48. Mumbai, India
49. Zagreb, Croatia
50. Hamburg, Germany
To see 2008 vs. 2007 rankings of these Top 50 cities, click here.
* If you do not see your Australian, African, Asian, Middle Eastern or North American city on this list, see CNN Money’s ranking of all 143 cities by clicking here.
In the News
“Profit margins in Greece are unheard of in other EU countries”
“Greek families struggling to make ends meet”
“Cost of Living in Greece, highest in EU, particularly basics such as food”
“Greeks worried about finances more than last year”
“78 percent of Greeks believe prices are set to rise”
“Greece: Second highest prices for liquid gas/petrol in the EU”
“Rise in cost of living has Greece battling for tourists” – BBC
(All published after my article on the same topic was plagiarized by a different newspaper on May 6th)
Related posts
“Athens, Greece: Quality of Living ranking 2008”
“Athens, Greece: 29th Most Expensive City in the World 2007”
“Consumers pay double for basics in Greece vs. other EU countries”
* Article updated January 10, 2009
Kat Reply:
August 24th, 2008 at 22:17
Thank you for summarizing truths about the Greek labor market in such a succinct way. It’s precisely the point I illustrate in “Examples of jobs and salaries in Athens,” as well as “Value of a university degree in Greece.”