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ARCHIVES 2005
15.12.2005
The September 2005 indices are available.
This year again, numerous locations were added to
our already wide list. For most of them we can provide you a full range
of services: cost of living indices, rent
surveys, living conditions,
mission expenses.
Asia is booming; just like your requests on this part
of the world. To better meet your needs, we have seriously enlarged
our coverage in China. Available cities are Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, Wuhan and Hong Kong. Harbin, in the north east, and Shenzen
will also be available very soon.
India was also surveyed and three new locations will be proposed
in early 2006: Bangalore, Calcutta and Madras.
Middle East coverage has also been enlarged with Iran
and Yemen.
Finally, in the ever-demanded Europe we mainly targeted
British and French secondary cities.
Seven locations are now available in the United Kingdom: Birmingham,
Bristol, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Oxford and Southampton.
In France, we regularly increase the number of locations, including
overseas.
Cost of living indices are now available for the following cities:
- France: Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier and Paris
- Overseas: Noumea (New Caledonia), Papeete (French Polynesia), St Denis
(Reunion) and Pointe-ŕ-Pitre (Guadeloupe).
03.10.2005
Enlarged coverage of the United Kingdom
A seventh city is now available for the United Kingdom : Bristol.
The other ones are Birmingham, Glasgow, London,
Manchester, Oxford and Southampton.
09.09.2005
The June 2005 indices are now available. Two new locations have been
integrated : Birmingham (UK) and St Denis (Reunion).
The main trend of this quarter is the increase of many indices, partly
due to the revaluation of most currencies against the euro.
01.09.2005
Focus on Guinea.
This country among the poorest in the world has witnessed a strong devaluation
over the last months, thus pushing the index down. In parallel, the
inflation has become stronger and stronger, reversing the downwards
trend.
Consequently, the June index is much higher than the March one.
12.08.2005
European disparities in fuel price increase.
Between July 2004 and July 2005, fuel prices have increase ±13%
on average in the European Union.
Although prices have increased in all 25 countries,
evolutions differ greatly.
Champions of the increase are Latvia, Estonia and Belgium (over 20%)
whereas Slovakia and Czech Republic have registered less than 8%.
01.06.2005
The March 2005 indices are available.
This quarter, we extend our geographic coverage in the Middle East with
two new locations : Sanaa (Yemen) and Teheran (Iran).
Yemen is a very poor country, not very well known by most of the people.
Petrol is the only ressource; Yemen is the 30th world producer.
Quite logically, the cost of living is low for the few expatriates living
there and it still does not compare at all with the cost of living for
locals. Yemen is thus one of the cheapest expat location in the world.
Feel free to contact us for more specific data.
23.03.2005
On the basis of our December 2004 cost of living indices, we give you
the main trends of the evolution of the cost of living around the world.
Currency fluctuations
The major trend of the year 2004 is the reinforcement of the
euro against most of the currencies. As an example, the US dollar weakened
seriously (drop of ±8%) and currencies like Chinese renmibi yuan or
Japanese yen have followed the same trend. Cost of living in Euro zone
countries (those countries whose currency is linked to the euro) has
thus become higher as compared to countries with a weak currency.
Madagascar has witnessed the highest drop with a devaluation
of 40% against the euro; Guinea and Venezuela follow with a devaluation
of 25%.
Not all currencies have weakened. The Polish zloty
gained 15%, the Georgian lari and the Dominican peso a little bit more
than 10%.
More generally, the only currencies that did not devaluate
are those from the Scandinavian countries, some East European countries,
Switzerland and South Africa.
Inflations
The highest inflation rates are to be found in Africa, in countries
like Zimbabwe, Angola, Madagascar or Guinea. Some Latin American countries
are also hardly hit, like Venezuela, Haiti and Dominican Republic. In
Asia, we can notice a very high inflation in Myanmar.
Cost of living evolutions
Cost of living variations depend on 2 elements: exchange rate fluctuations
and price evolution. Those two elements are sometimes linked, but they
do not always compensate. Low inflation countries with a devaluating
currency will see their cost of living decrease; this is for example
the case of Japan. Nevertheless, major devaluations are often compensated
by high inflations, just as in Eritrea.
In spite of the good health of the euro, the cost
of living has increased in some countries out of the Euro zone.
Over the year 2004 we measured the highest cost of living increase in
the following countries: Dominican Republic (combination of a high inflation
and the peso revaluation), Poland (exchange rate fluctuation); Georgia,
Mozambique, Uganda… Some high inflation countries like Haiti or Myanmar
have also seen their cost of living increase significantly.
The main decrease in cost of living has been registered in Madagascar.
Although inflation was high, the exchange rate evolution generated a
decrease in the cost of living Other significant decreases have been
registered in Guinea, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Syria… In Europe the main
evolution concerns Iceland. This country has witnessed a higher inflation
than usual and the crown has revaluated at the same time. As a result,
Iceland has joined the first places in the European top of most expensive
cities.
For any further information on a more specific location,
please do not hesitate to contact us.
20.02.2005
2004 was a very eventful year for EuroCost International : no less than
20 new locations have been added to our list !
After a last stop in Istanbul, we finished our world tour in
France : after Paris, we now propose complete data for Bordeaux,
Lille and Montpellier.
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