Top 10 cheapest cities in the world
An Indian street vendor displays a shirt to adolescent boys in an open air market in New Delhi on July 17, 2011.
Asian and Middle Eastern cities dominate the list of the world's ten cheapest cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's bi-annual cost of living report.
It's an interesting result, especially considering that half of the world's ten most expensive cities are also in the Asia Pacific region — Tokyo and Singapore, for example.
The Middle Eastern cities are partly affected by price controls and currencies being pegged to the US dollar, the EIU suggests, while Asian cities — primarily those in India and Pakistan — remain a bastion of cheap labor and land, a draw for visitors and investors (despite security risks).
The numbers in the list below represent the cities' respective world cost of living indices, calculated in relation to New York's, set at 100.
To put things in perspective, the highest index in the EIU's report is 170, for Zurich, which now ranks as the world's most expensive city.
1. Muscat, Oman: 63
2. Dhaka, Bangladesh: 61
3. Algiers, Algeria: 59
4. Kathmandu, Nepal: 58
5. Panama City, Panama: 58
6. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 57
7. New Delhi, India: 56
8. Tehran, Iran: 54
9. Mumbai, India: 52
10. Karachi, Pakistan: 46
Matthew Kassel is a writer for Business Insider's lifestyle section.
More from our partner Business Insider:
Business Insider: How Apple Saved Facebook, And Other Facebook Facts You Didn't Know
Business Insider: This Fan Video Of Jeremy Lin's Game-Winning Shot From Inside The Arena Will Give You Goosebumps
Business Insider: The Real Reason The Rest of Europe Is Just Torturing Greece Now
Business Insider: [REPORT] Hillary Clinton Looking To Take Over The World Bank
Business Insider: The 10 Most Important New Features In Apple's New Mac OS
We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!