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‘Oasis index’ reveals where it’s cheapest in the world for five beers and two packs of cigarettes

Published 16:38 17 Jul 2026 BST

Updated 16:38 17 Jul 2026 BST

Harry Warner
‘Oasis index’ reveals where it’s cheapest in the world for five beers and two packs of cigarettes

Homenews

They were looking for some data, but all they found were cigarettes and alcohol

An 'Oasis index' has revealed where it's cheapest in the world to buy five beers and two packs of cigarettes.

The boffins over at Deutsche Bank have been busy crunching the numbers on their annual 'mapping the world's prices' report.

The study presents each year indexes on a range of matters, including everything from the cost in cities of renting a one-bed flat to the price of date nights across the world.

However, one of the most eye-catching metrics which was presented by the German bank is the 'Oasis index'.

Inspired by the Manchester band's famous song 'Cigarettes and Alcohol', as well as the Gallagher brothers' rock n' roll lifestyle, the index reflects the cost of five beers and two packs of cigarettes across the world.

10 most expensive cities on the 'Oasis index'

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Melbourne. Credit: Adobe Stock.

The top 10 features three cities in the UK with half of the locations being in Europe.

Nine of the 10 cities are majority English speaking too.

Melbourne tops the list as just one of two cities to break the $100 barrier.

  1. Melbourne, Australia: $111.2
  2. Sydney, Australia: $109.5
  3. Auckland, New Zealand: $68.6
  4. Wellington, New Zealand: $67.1
  5. London, United Kingdom: $63.9
  6. Birmingham, United Kingdom: $62.8
  7. Dublin, Ireland: $61.6
  8. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: $60.5
  9. New York, United States: $54.1
  10. Oslo, Norway: $53.4

10 cheapest cities on the 'Oasis index'

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Shanghai. Credit: Adobe Stock.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, the 10 cheapest cities features an eclectic mix of countries from across the world, ranging from Asia to Africa to South America.

The cheapest city on this list, Shanghai, is over 10x less than Melbourne.

That means for the price of five beers and two packs of cigarettes in Melbourne you could get 50 beers and 20 packs of cigarettes.

  1. Shanghai, China: 10.4
  2. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 11.7
  3. Cairo, Egypt: 12.1
  4. Moscow, Russia: 12.7
  5. Manila, Philippines: 12.8
  6. Beijing, China: 13.0
  7. Sao Paulo, Brazil: 13.7
  8. Cape Town, South Africa: 13.8
  9. Bogota, Colombia: 15.1
  10. Taipei, Taiwan: 16.0