10 of the cheapest cities in the world for wine

Following on from our look at the 10 of the most expensive cities in the world, we take a look at the cities in the world with the lowest cost of living, ranked by the cost of a 750ml bottle of wine.

A woman’s hand reaches out to select a bottle of red wine from the shelf of a wine shop

In its 2018 Cost of Living index, The Economist Intelligence Unit compares more than 50,000 individual prices across 160 products and services including categories like food, drink, clothing, household supplies, rent, transport, and utility bills.

Prices are surveyed in the off-trade, analysing supermarkets, mid-priced stores and higher-priced speciality outlets to determine an average.

“Prices gathered are then converted into a central currency (US dollars) using the prevailing exchange rate and weighted in order to achieve comparative indices.”

In 2018, the world’s cheapest city overall was Damascus, in Syria, having fallen by 14 places in the past 12 months.

“The citizens of Damascus may not feel that the city is getting cheaper, with inflation averaging an estimated 28% in Syria during 2017,” the report said. “However, local price rises have not completely offset a near-consistent decline in the value of the Syrian pound since the onset of war in 2011.”

Within the report, the team also details how much a bottle of table wine (750 ml) would cost throughout the world’s cheapest cities, based on their overall cost of living, with the prices varying from $3.35 to $19.03.

With the exception of Damascus, Caracas in Venezuela and Lagos in Nigeria, all of the cities saw and increase in the average cost of a bottle of wine compared to the previous year.

The biggest drop was seen in Damascus, with the cost of a bottle falling by 57.6%, followed by Caracas at 20%.

Click through to see the top 10 cheapest cities in the world to buy a bottle of wine…

Source: The Economist Cost Intelligence Unit – Worldwide Cost of Living 2018, based on the average US$ price for one bottle of table wine (750ml).

10. New Delhi, India

Current: $19.03 (£14.67)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 4.6%

Last year: $18.20

5 years: $21.38

10 years: $41.78

9. Bangalore, India

Current: $16.42 (£12.66)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 8.7%

Last year: $15.11

5 years: n/a

10 years: n/a

8. Karachi, Pakistan

Current: $14.14 (£10.90)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 1.8%

Last year: $13.89

5 years: $14.79

10 years: $11.15

7. Chennai, India

Current: $11.24 (£8.67)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 9.7%

Last year: $10.25

5 years: n/a

10 years: n/a

6. Algiers, Algeria

Current: $10.20 (£7.86)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 9.8%

Last year: $9.29

5 years: $11.28

10 years: $6.49

5. Caracas, Venezuela

Current: $9.52 (£7.34)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: -20%

Last year: $11.92

5 years: $18.14

10 years: $4.32

4. Almaty, Kazakhstan

Current: $7.45 (£5.74)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 44.7%

Last year: $5.15

5 years: $6.93

10 years: $4.58

3. Lagos, Nigeria

Current: $6.79 (£5.24)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: -4.4%

Last year: $7.10

5 years: $11.48

10 years:  $10.81

2. Bucharest, Romania

Current: $4.98 (£3.84)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: 9%

Last year: $4.57

5 years: $3.77

10 years: $4.89

1. Damascus, Syria

Current: $3.35  (£2.58)

PERCENT INCREASE YOY: -57.6%

Last year: $7.90

5 years: $6.49

10 years: $2.73