Toronto Isn't In The Top 50 Priciest Places To Live In The World But It's Moving Up Fast

Even though those who live in Toronto have likely already come to terms with the city being incredibly expensive, a new report reveals that it is apparently not so bad in comparison to other cities across the globe.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) — a research division of the Economist Group and sister company to The Economist newspaper — put out its Worldwide Cost of Living report for 2021, where it explored the living costs of 173 cities around the world.

EIU compared over 400 individual prices across 200 products and services in all of these cities, and has been conducting this survey twice a year for over 30 years.

So, where does the 6ix land?

EIU

Toronto was ranked as the 79th most expensive city in the world, tying with Prague in the Czech Republic. While it doesn't even rank in the top 50 most expensive places to live in, EIU noted that it is quickly climbing up the list, as it moved up eight places from the previous report.

Of all of the cities considered in the report, Tel Aviv was ranked as the most expensive place to live. EIU said this is largely due to the shekel appreciating in value (plus, compared to other cities, it is the second-most expensive place for buying alcohol and for transport.)

Paris, which was ranked as the most expensive city last year, has been pushed down to second alongside Singapore.

EIU

Damascus in Syria was ranked as the cheapest city to live in.

The 2021 report noted that the rate of inflation boomed across the world and was "the fastest recorded over the past five years." Issues with the supply chain, exchange rates, and changes in consumer demand, have led to rising costs of goods and commodities.

The report predicts that living costs will continue to rise in many cities worldwide over the coming year.

"Inflationary expectations are also likely to feed into wage rises, further fuelling price rises," the report said.

Not all hope is lost though.

"We forecast that global consumer price inflation will average 4.3% in 2022, down from 5.1% in 2021 but still substantially higher than in recent years. If supply-chain disruptions die down and lockdowns ease as expected, then the situation should improve towards the end of 2022, stabilising the cost of living in most major cities," according to the report.