AMMAN, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's capital Amman was ranked the most expensive city in the Arab world and the 28th worldwide, according to a recent report by Intelligence Unit of The Economist.
The city exceedes some of the main Gulf, European and North American cities such as Dubai, London, Rome, Washington.
The report titled "Worldwide Cost of Living Survey," which compared the prices of over 150 items in 133 cities around the world, indicated that Madrid and Barcelona both ranked 34th, compared with Amman, which seized the 28th place.
Economist attributed the rise in living cost in Amman to increasing taxes and low salaries.
"Salaries in Amman are much lower than that in Dubai, for example, yet prices of some commodities in Amman are higher," economist Wajdi Makhamreh told Xinhua.
"The recent measures by the government to increase sales tax on several items played a role in increasing living cost in Amman as the tax increased prices of commodities, which eventually affected residents of the country," said Makhamreh.
Makhamreh was echoed by economist Hosam Ayesh.
"The government has been increasing prices of fuel over the past months although sometimes the price of oil barrel dropped at the global level, therefore the rise in cost of fuel increased the cost or production on factories and all commercial stories, which in turn resorted to increasing prices of items," said Ayesh.
"One of the key challenges is also the low economic growth. The country's economy grows by about 2 percent annually, which is insufficient to create jobs and provide some sort of income to Jordanian families who are facing a challenging situation," he said.
"For example, a large amount of salaries goes for public transportation. If there is a good public transport system, people will not be forced to spend a big amount of their income on taxis and commuting," Ayesh said.
The economists said the presence of a large number of Syrian refugees is also a factor that increases pressure on the economy.
According to official figures, there are some 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, representing some 20 percent of the population.
