Oman ranks seventh globally for lowest cost of living

Muscat: While many citizens and expatriates often complain about the rising cost of living in the country, from a New Yorker’s perspective Oman is the seventh least expensive country in the world to live in.
The local purchasing power of Oman is 57.5 per cent higher than that enjoyed by New York residents, rent is 71.7 per cent cheaper, groceries are 48.9 per cent cheaper and local goods and services are 44.4 per cent cheaper than in New York City.
In the Gulf region, Oman and Saudi Arabia are the only two countries that have found a place among the top 10 countries, according to a survey by GOBankingRates, which generated the ranking based on cost of living indices sourced from online pricing database Numbeo.com.
The study surveyed cost indicators for major cities in 112 nations for which Numbeo had current and accurate data, time.com reported.
GOBankingRates measured each country’s performance on four key data points: the country’s local purchasing power, which measures the local buying power of typical incomes; the cost index of consumer goods and services; cost index of rents; and cost index of groceries, compared to New York City. “A lower purchasing power buys fewer goods, while a higher purchasing power buys more,” it noted.
At the global level, South Africa, India, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Zambia, Oman, Paraguay, the Czech Republic, and Macedonia made the top ten, while Bermuda trailed in last place. In the Mena region, Oman ranks in seventh place, lagging behind Saudi Arabia (fourth worldwide), Algeria (25th), Tunisia (34th), Syria (37th), and Egypt (43rd) among the top 50 countries.
“Like many of its Middle Eastern neighbours, Oman is rich in oil and gas resources that make it a wealthy nation that has the highest local purchasing power in the top 50,” the report said.
Commenting on the report, S Basu, an Indian expat, living in the Sultanate, said that the conclusions prove that Oman is still one of the least expensive countries to live in throughout the world. “From rent to groceries to schooling, everything is cheap here compared to other major cities in the world,” she added.
Hassan Al Mahrouqui, a resident of Oman, pointed out that the rural areas are much cheaper in Oman than those in other GCC countries. “Besides, the free education and free health care systems shows how Oman is one of the most affordable countries in the world,” he said.