Top 10 cheapest cities in the world

18.02.2012

Asian and Middle Eastern cities dominate the list of the world's ten cheapest cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's bi-annual cost of living report.

It's an interesting result, especially considering that half of the world's ten most expensive cities are also in the Asia Pacific region — Tokyo and Singapore, for example.

The Middle Eastern cities are partly affected by price controls and currencies being pegged to the US dollar, the EIU suggests, while Asian cities — primarily those in India and Pakistan — remain a bastion of cheap labor and land, a draw for visitors and investors (despite security risks).

The numbers in the list below represent the cities' respective world cost of living indices, calculated in relation to New York's, set at 100.

To put things in perspective, the highest index in the EIU's report is 170, for Zurich, which now ranks as the world's most expensive city.

1.   Muscat, Oman: 63

2.   Dhaka, Bangladesh: 61

3.   Algiers, Algeria: 59

4.   Kathmandu, Nepal: 58

5.   Panama City, Panama: 58

6.   Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 57

7.   New Delhi, India: 56

8.   Tehran, Iran: 54

9.   Mumbai, India: 52

10. Karachi, Pakistan: 46