Tirana and Belgrade have been named the region’s most expensive cities in terms of the cost of living, according to Numbeo, an international database of living costs.
The index looks at the cost of various items and services including rent, a meal in a restaurant, an internet connection, and various food items. The values are submitted by users and researchers and then ranks cities from most expensive overall to least expensive, in comparison to New York City.
The cost of living in Tirana is 38.7% of what it costs to live in New York, with Belgrade only slightly higher at 38.8%. The cheapest in the Balkans is Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, with 26.3%, followed by Skopje in North Macedonia with 32.94% and Podgorica in Montenegro with 34.52%.
In terms of rent, Tirana rent is 10% of that of New York, while Belgrade is 13.7% and Skopje 7%.
Tirana also ranked as expensive for shopping in supermarkets, and eating and drinking in restaurants.
The most expensive cities in the world were Basel and Zurich in Switzerland at 120% and 118% of New York. The cheapest cities were some of those in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Colombia.
