VietNamNet Bridge - According to a survey of the General Statistic Office (GSO), the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau has the highest cost of living index in the country while the southern province of Tra Vinh has the cheapest living costs.

The survey on living cost index of Vietnam in 2015 was released by the GSO on March 24.

 Lai Chau had the highest index in 2015 (0.3% higher than in Hanoi), followed by Hanoi, Dien Bien, Son La, Lao Cai, and HCM City.

According to the GSO, the living costs in Ho Chi Minh City were cheaper than that of Hanoi for 2.61% thanks to the implementation of the price stabilization program in recent years.

The prices of food, clothing, beverages ... in the city did not surge and were lower than those of Hanoi from 1-8%.

Meanwhile, Tra Vinh had the lowest cost of living index in the country (19.28% cheaper than in Hanoi), followed by Thai Binh and Vinh Long.

 Binh Duong and Tay Ninh had the fastest rates of price increases in the country, with the increase of 13 and nine spots after one year, respectively.

Considering the region, in 2015, the northern midland and mountainous areas had the most expensive cost of living index in the country (in 2014 this position belonged to the southeastern region).

As the northern mountainous provinces could not produce goods the transport costs of goods from the lowland was high. In addition, the distribution system of this region was highly fragmented so the cost to maintain the distribution system was high.

The Mekong Delta has the cheapest cost of living in Vietnam.

Linh Nhat