The Middle East has the world’s priciest and cheapest cities, and that’s a problem – The National

The Middle East has the world’s priciest and cheapest cities, and that’s a problem – The National

Ten years ago, while the Middle East was in the throes of uprisings rocking several Arab cities, Tel Aviv saw one of the biggest protests in its history, with 300,000 Israelis marching through its tree-lined avenues.

The demonstrators were not protesting political oppression or calling for an overthrow of the government – though, as in nearby Arab cities, many of their placards did cite corruption among their list of grievances. They were protesting an unsustainable cost of living.

At the time, Tel Aviv had become the most expensive city in the Middle East – a title it has held throughout the decade since. This month, it was named by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living Index (WCOL) as the most expensive city on Earth. The index measures the US-dollar prices of 200 goods and services – including rent, transportation, household goods and other items – in the world’s major cities.