A meat stall at a market (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The South Eastern region was ranked as the most expensive in Vietnam in 2016, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In the year, four southeastern provinces raised education service prices by 4.36 percent – 35.64 percent.
Two localities, namely Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong province, increased healthcare service prices by 44.47 percent and 64.07 percent respectively.
The GSO’s Price Statistics Department said most of commodities in the region such as garment-textile, housing and construction material, transport, posts and telecommunication have average price higher from 0.3 percent to 7.57 percent.
The Spatial Cost of Living Index (SCOLI) in the region was estimated at 101.73 percent, while that in the Red River Delta was 100 percent.
The northern midland and mountainous region came second in SCOLI (101.33 percent).In 2016, the region saw the highest price hike of 6.9 percent in healthcare services.
The Mekong Delta still has the lowest SCOLI from 2014 to now (98.29 percent).
Other expensive regions include the Central Highlands and the north central and central coastal region with the respective SCOLI of 101.11 percent and 100.32 percent.
Head of the GSO Nguyen Bich Lam said the SCOLI is a national statistic criterion which reflects trends and fluctuations of living cost among regions and localities in a certain period, normally in one year.
The index aims to serve the country’s socio-economic development policy making and evaluation of implementing policies on poverty reduction and financial support.-VNA
VNA
