ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has said that Pakistan has been ranked least costly country among 139 countries of the world.
Statistics shared by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, ranked Bermuda as the most expensive country followed by Switzerland and Norway.
According to the Numbeo database, the average price of milk per liter in Pakistan is Rs 122.56, that of rice per kg is Rs 159.07, and eggs per dozen is Rs 175.04.
Likewise, the price of chicken meat per kg in Pakistan is Rs 393.45 per kg, beef Rs 645.1 per kg, apples Rs 170 per kg, oranges Rs 115.29 per kg, tomatoes Rs 77.86 per kg, potatoes Rs 55.16 per kg, onion Rs 52 per kg, water (1.5-liter bottle) Rs 61.01, and cigarettes 20 pack (Marlboro) Rs 250.
In transportation, the Numbeo database has estimated the average price of the one-way tickets (local transport) at Rs 40, taxi start (normal tariff) Rs 150, taxi per km (normal tariff) Rs 36.61, and Toyota Corolla sedan new car at Rs 3.24 million.
Similarly, the price of basic utilities (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage) for an 85 m2 apartment is around Rs 11,425,43 per month, price of one minute of prepaid mobile tariff local is Rs 2.67, that of the internet (unlimited monthly data) Rs 3,596.98, one pair of jeans (levis or similar) Rs 2,527, Summer dress in chain store Rs 3,980, pair of Nike running shoes (mid-range) Rs 8,412, and one pair of men leather business shoes Rs 5,628.
Similarly, according to the Numbeo database, the rate of the apartment (1 bedroom) in the city center in Pakistan, on average is Rs 20,341, apartment (1 bedroom) outside of center Rs 12,999.81, apartment (3 bedrooms) in city center Rs 45,441, and apartment (3 bedrooms) outside of the center is Rs 28,861.
The per square meter to buy an apartment in the city center costs around Rs 131,744 while the average cost per square meter apartment outside the city center is Rs 73,749.
The Numbeo website says it received around 10285 entries in the past 12 months from 794 different contributors. Our data for each country are based on all entries from all cities in that country, it added.
It added that the data was last updated in the current month.