London, 10 December 1996 (RFE/RL) - A new survey shows the capitals of the Central and Eastern European countries are among the 20 or so cheapest major cities in the world.
The capital with the lowest living costs in Europe is Budapest, which ranks 114th in a league table of 120 cities compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a London firm that publishes business information.
The survey shows that a kilogram of beef steak costs less than $5 in Budapest compared with nearly $180 in Tokyo which, together with another Japanese metropolis, Osaka-Kobe, is the world's most expensive city.
Joint third behind the Japanese cities are Oslo and Zurich, which are the most expensive cities in Europe.
The European cities with the lowest living costs are in the East: Warsaw is 99th, Prague 102nd, Belgrad 106th and Bucharest 108th. The least costly European Union capital is Lisbon, which ranks 52nd.
The city with the cheapest living costs in the world is Bombay.