HCM City followed Hanoi with the cost-of-living equivalent to 98.44 percent of the capital, followed by Quang Ninh 97.94 percent, Hai Phong 96.07 per cent and Binh Duong 94.25 per cent.
Ben Tre recorded the lowest SCOLI last year equal to 85.93 percent of Hanoi’s index. Other localities in the top five with the lowest cost of living included Nam Dinh (86.35 percent), Quang Tri (86.66 percent), Soc Trang and Gia Lai (87.91 percent).
Nguyen Thu Oanh, Director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department, the southern economic hub of HCM City had lower consumer prices of essential commodities than Hanoi but some products and services such as education services, beverages and cigarettes were higher.
According to Oanh, Ben Tre has favourable natural and geographical conditions, which enable the province to increasingly develop agriculture and livestock, meeting local people's needs for essential goods.
The Red River Delta had the highest cost of living while the Mekong River Delta had the lowest.
The official said 2023’s SCOLI data saw minor changes compared to 2022. The boom in e-commerce and digital technologies shifted consumer purchasing online, which evened prices across localities.
The SCOLI is a relative indicator that reflects the difference in consumer goods and service prices among localities and regions in a certain period. The index can be used as a reference for socioeconomic development policies to evaluate the results of poverty reduction and support policies.
It is also the basis for calculating the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) according to purchasing power parity.
Businesses can use the index to assess competitiveness regarding prices, market share and product costs. Workers can use the data to negotiate wages and consider living costs in different regions.