The Cost-of-Living Project tracks the evolution of household living costs across countries in the South-West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. The project is based on weekly scraping of product-level price data from online supermarkets and retailers to monitor changes in the prices of food items, household products, and other essential goods.
The project started in May 2026 and currently covers Lebanon, with plans to expand data collection to additional countries in the region. By collecting data at a high frequency, the project allows for timely analysis of price changes, especially during periods of economic volatility.
Findings from the project are regularly published through research reports produced by the Lab. The reports analyze the evolution of prices over time and across countries. A central objective is to make changes in the cost of living more tangible by showing how the affordability of basic goods varies across the income distribution.
Through this project, the Lab provides accessible, regularly updated evidence on living standards, affordability, and household economic conditions in Lebanon and the wider SWANA region.