The international report tracked the catastrophic effects of the exceptional recession, with its number and speed, which hit the main indicators used to measure the quality of life in Lebanon, and concluded that Beirut ranked 240th, i.e. the “worst” cities due to the effects of the observed deterioration in the comparative data of purchasing power, cost of living and the average cost of housing as a percentage of income, due to the continuous collapse of the national currency.
In parallel, the Lebanese capital has maintained its leading position among the Arab cities included in the study on the high cost of living index, ranking 46th in the world.
The latest statistics published by the Lebanese Central Statistical Office showed that the average annual increase in the price inflation index was about 190% compared to the results documented at the end of November last year, bringing the cumulative inflation rate to about 2000%. , as a result of three years of continuous financial and currency crises, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported.
The year-on-year increase in the inflation index came as a result of all of its components registering tangible and sustained growth, as food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 171%, and they account for 20% of the combined index. Transportation prices rose by 182% with a weighting of 13.1%.
There was a record 235% increase in the cost of housing, which includes water, gas, electricity and fuel costs, in addition to an unprecedented 172% increase in healthcare costs, while the cost of education increased, which jumped by 191%. At the same time, the cost of communication increased by 226%.
It is likely that in the coming months all expenses will increase even more, which is associated with the persistence of political disagreements regarding constitutional rights, the main of which is the vacancy of the post of President of the Republic, which has entered the third month without any serious signs of the imminent election of a new president. As markets prepare to identify themselves with demands for a roughly 10-fold increase in the price of import duty in dollars and an expected increase in the cost of all government services, noting that educational and hospital institutions and telecommunications companies are resorting to new dollar pricing, in part or in full, for services that they provide.
According to a study of the rates recorded in Beirut in the previous two years and expected for the current year, which are documented by the Nambio statistics website, the results were completely opposite to the equations needed for a positive quality of life classification. This is because the measurement of quality of life is based on the results of 8 core indicators, half of which require a high score and include purchasing power, safety, health and climate, and the other half require a low score, including the cost of housing. living standards and the ratio of house price to income, which reflects the ability to afford the cost of housing, traffic and travel time to work, and pollution.
As for the independent index, which measures the cost of living worldwide based on a digital benchmark of 100 and is owned by New York City, Beirut is expected to regain some balance this year, fixing the 80 mark after being exceeded by 20% of the cost of living in American city over the past year, up from 60 just before the crisis hit in the fall of 2019.
Consequently, the underlying price system for the major indices is back down in Beirut by about 20% from their levels recorded in New York this year.
The Lebanese capital scored 20.7 on the Home Rental Price Index, about 80% less than its U.S. city counterparts, and commodity prices rose to about 92% compared to New York City. Restaurant prices have almost halved.
As for the interesting comparison, it lies in the purchasing power index, which in Beirut is reduced and is only 10 points, or 90% less than the benchmark.