These are the most expensive cities in Latin America

5 cities in Latin America, among the best in the world 0:54

(CNN Spanish) --

Buenos Aires is now the most expensive city in Latin America, according to the annual list of the global mobility company ECA International, with a ranking that takes into account both the price of rent and basic food and transport to measure in which cities in the world it is more expensive to live.

Located on the banks of the Río de la Plata, the Argentine capital is one of the most important ports in the region and one of the most populous cities (2,890,151 inhabitants, according to the most recent data available from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of the Argentine Republic), along with others such as Sao Paulo (11,253,503), in Brazil, or Mexico City (9,209,944) in Mexico.

• These are the 10 most expensive cities in the world in 2022

The increase in prices in Buenos Aires is remarkable: it went from position 92 in 2021 to position 37 in the ranking of the most expensive cities, a change of 55 positions.

The vast majority of Latin American cities rose in the list of the most expensive of ECA International, with one notable exception: Santiago de Chile, which went from position 98 in 2021 to 119.

Other cities that became more expensive were Montevideo, Panama City, Santo Domingo and Rio de Janeiro.

The ECA International ranking calculates the list based on several factors, including the average price of household staples such as milk and cooking oil, rent, utilities, public transportation, and the strength of the economy. local currency.

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The most expensive city in the world is Hong Kong, followed by New York, Geneva, London and Tokyo.

Asia is the most expensive continent, with five cities (Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Seoul) making the top 10.

Prices in Buenos Aires

In Buenos Aires, renting an 85-m2 furnished apartment in a middle-income area can cost around US$95, while a space with the same characteristics but in a high-income area costs US$926, according to estimates from the Expatistan website, a platform that brings together cost of living data from cities around the world.

According to data from Expatistan, for a liter of whole milk you can pay up to US $1.11, only 12 cents less than what you would pay in New York, the second most expensive city in the world in the annual list of ECA International.

If we compare Buenos Aires with Bogotá (Colombia), a city lower in the ranking and outside the top 10 most expensive cities in Latin America, we will see that the Argentine capital is 37% more expensive, according to Expatistan.

Food and entertainment in the Argentine capital, for example, are much more expensive than in Bogotá: 52% and 87% more, respectively.

Bogotá fell four places in one year in the list of the most expensive cities.

Wealth and poverty go hand in hand in Buenos Aires 2:10

The most expensive cities in Latin America, according to the ECA index

Below Buenos Aires are Montevideo (Uruguay), Panama City (Panama), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in the list of the most expensive Latin American cities to live in.

It should be noted that the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro (position 118) and Sao Paulo (138) rose 45 and 38 places respectively in the global ranking.

“Following challenges in previous years due to greed and political unrest that caused the Brazilian real to plunge, Brazil's currency underwent a turnaround as interest rates rose to combat inflation combined with rising interest rates. commodity prices and the covid outlook.

The upgrade has strengthened the real, making the country more expensive for expats and visitors than it was last year,” explained Steven Kilfedder, director of realization at ECA International.

Although Santiago de Chile fell 21 places in the global ranking to rank 119 in 2022, among Latin American cities it is among the 10 most expensive after Rio de Janeiro.

“President Gabriel Boric's intentional leftist policies sounded alarm bells among investors and contributed to the currency falling 10% against the US dollar.

Given that Chile is a major exporter of copper, whose prices have risen, the currency's depreciation highlights the extent of investor concerns,” explains Kilfedder.

A viewpoint in Brazil not suitable for people with vertigo 0:58

further down the list

Bogotá ranks 12th among the most expensive Latin American cities in the ranking prepared by ECA International.

According to the company, political uncertainty in Colombia contributed to its drop four places in the global ranking, where it now ranks 143rd.

“On the surface, Colombia should have seen its currency strengthen, as a key oil exporter as prices rise, however, political uncertainty ahead of the election had the opposite effect on the Colombian peso, meaning it is cheaper. for many expatriates or tourists than last year," says the ECA International analysis sent to CNN en Español.

Medellín also fell in positions: it dropped 5 places in the global ranking.

Before Bogotá is Mexico City and further down the list there are also cities such as Caracas (Venezuela), Monterrey and Guadalajara (Mexico), Brasilia (Brazil) or La Paz (Bolivia).

Below is the list of the most expensive cities in Latin America, according to the ECA index:

Buenos AiresMost expensive cities