VILNIUS — New research by a British price comparison company shows that Vilnius is 8.2 percent cheaper than the average world city, but the Lithuanian capital’s average income is much lower than in comparable cities.
The information comes as Lithuania experiences its largest-ever year of emigration since independence due to an economic crisis that’s brought steep wage cuts but little deflation. The ranking makes the Lithuanian capital slightly more expensive than other Eastern Europe capitals like Prague and Warsaw, but cheaper than Budapest.
The research done by PriceRunner, a price comparison website, used 26 products from various categories including computers, cigarettes, food and clothes to measure the cost of living in different cities across the world. The method was used to sample the daily living expenses of people living in each of the cities.
Oslo was crowned most expensive capital city in the 33-country list, a spot it retains from last year. Prices in the Norwegian capital are around 35 percent higher.
Vilnius is not too far behind London on the list, which is 1.9 percent cheaper than average cities, but wages in the two cities differ greatly.
According to the British National Statistics website, male and female Londoners earn 579 and 499 pounds (€640 – €552) per week, respectively.
Vilnius residents on the other hand earned 2,450 litai (€710) a month on average during 2008, before wages were slashed across the board.
Wages differ across Lithuania — in the Tauragė county, the average monthly wage was only 1,636 litai in 2008, though many staple costs such as water, heating and electricity are charged at the same rate as for those living in the larger centers in the country.
The government has been able to do little to keep people from leaving the country in droves as it whittles the budget down as much as possible.
Lithuania is experiencing one of Europe’s worst recessions along with northern neighbors Latvia and Estonia.
All three countries have seen unemployment soar into double digits coupled with massive contractions in gross domestic product.
