DUBAI // Dubai has the most expensive wine and beer in the world and is the second most costly city for dining out, a global study has found.
Dubai was the 29th most expensive city in the world to live in while Abu Dhabi ranked 40th, according to cost of living experts Expatistan.com.
“In the last year we have seen an increase in the cost of living for expatriates in the Emirates,” said Gerardo Robledillo, chief executive of the comparison website. “In last year’s ranking Dubai was only the 64th most expensive city, and Abu Dhabi just the 57th.”
Expatistan produced its 2015 summer report yesterday after comparing information from 345,000 contributors to calculate average prices in 1,958 cities in 202 countries.
They determined which global cities were the most wallet-busting based on current costs of housing, clothes, transport, personal care, entertainment and food.
It found a pint of beer in Dubai cost Dh42 while a bottle of good quality red table wine cost Dh103. The cost of alcohol in the emirate was the highest in the world. In the UK, a pint costs Dh25, while a bottle of wine in the United States costs Dh51. It was also much higher than Abu Dhabi, where a pint costs Dh33 and a bottle of wine Dh50.
Dubai ranked second highest for dining out, coming in after only Grand Cayman island. A dinner for two at an Italian restaurant including wine and dessert costs, on average, Dh490 in the emirate.
Of the 11 Middle Eastern cities included in the study, Dubai is the most expensive to live in, followed by Abu Dhabi.
This could be attributed to sky-high housing and entertainments costs compared with cities in Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Using the site to compare Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it shows that housing is 20 per cent more expensive in the capital, with monthly rent for a 900-square-foot furnished accommodation in an expensive area, setting back residents Dh11,042 rather than Dh8,466.
Abu Dhabi ranked seventh in the world after Hong Kong, London, Doha, New York, Zurich and Singapore, for its rent prices. While accommodation costs more in Abu Dhabi, food, clothes, transport and entertainment are 11 per cent, 14 per cent, 33 per cent and 19 per cent respectively cheaper than Dubai.
Fujairah is the cheapest place to live in the Emirates.
Three of the five most expensive places in the world to live are in Switzerland where Zurich and Geneva are ranked first and second, followed by Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands, London, and Bern, also in Switzerland.
jbell@thenational.ae