Coming to a store and order a coffee in Caracas is one of the most expensive in the world that can carry any Venezuelans, though not the only one. Drink a cup a coffee costs $ 6.29, according to the 2011 Cost of Living Survey conducted by the consultancy Mercer in 214 cities worldwide.

It is more expensive than elsewhere in Latin America, more expensive than in London ($ 4.35) and New York ($ 4.40), and only surpassed by the quartet of Asian cities world's most expensive: Tokyo ($ 7, 63), Beijing (7.45), Hong Kong (6.80) and Shanghai (6.39).

Compared to the rest of the world, Caracas is among 51 most expensive cities to live, as revealed by the analysis. But throughout Latin America is the fourth most expensive, surpassed by Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.

However, in some respects the Venezuelan capital exceeds even the most expensive cities in Latin America.Not just a cup of coffee, also rent a luxury apartment with two bedrooms costs more than the rest of the region.Mercer noted in the Cost of Living Report 2011 that the rental of a dwelling such costs an average of $ 3,000, even over cities like Miami, Madrid and Vancouver.

To buy a kilo of pasta is more expensive not only when compared with the rest of Latin America but also with a sample of 18 cities.According to the study of the consultant, the price (regulated for years in Venezuela) is equivalent to $ 11.73 per kilo rather than the most expensive places in the region and well above the sample.

For example, in Sao Paulo (the most expensive in Latin America), a kilogram of pasta costs $ 7.04 in Luanda (the most expensive city in the world) the price is estimated at $ 8.04.

Other prices in the Venezuelan capital highlighted by Mercer are the two tickets to a movie ($ 21.42), a music CD ($ 25.61), a menu of hamburgers at a local fast food ($ 8.38) one liter of pasteurized milk ($ 1.69) and a digital edition of a newspaper ($ 1.63).

The only line that wins by wide margin Caracas as the cheapest place is the price of gasoline. Mercer notes that the cost is $ 0.02 per liter of 95 octane unleaded. In contrast, in London where it costs $ 2.06.

The Mercer study is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees, taking New York as the base city with which you buy the other cities.

stejero@eluniversal.com stejero@eluniversal.com