BRUSSELS, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Oslo, Copenhagen and Zurich are the world's three priciest cities, according to a study by Swiss banking experts.
The "Prices and Earnings" study by Swiss bank UBS is based on a standardized basket of 122 goods and services. Rent prices are factored into the equation.
Moscow, often called "the world's most expensive city" is in 56th place, compared with 42nd in 2006.
The study determined that employees have to work a global average of 37 minutes to earn enough to pay for a Big Mac, 22 minutes for a kilo of rice and 25 minutes for a kilo of bread.
For non-food products, an average wage-earner in Zurich and New York can buy an iPod nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work.
At the other end of the rating are workers in Mumbai, who need to work 20 nine-hour days, roughly the equivalent of one month's salary, to purchase an iPod nano.
The report also shows that Zurich, Geneva and Copenhagen employees have the highest net wages in the world. Moscow is 41st in this ranking.
According to the survey, people in Cairo and Seoul work the longest hours (2,373 hours per year and 2,312 hours respectively). By contrast, Lyon and Paris employees spend the least amount of time at work (1,582 and 1,594 hours per year, respectively).
Investment bank UBS's "Prices and Earnings" compared the purchasing power in 73 cities around the globe between March and April of this year. The bank has carried out similar research every three years since 1971.
