Comparison of worldwide cost of living
Living ist most expensive in Iran and cheapest in Palestine. In our ranking of 110 countries all around the world the USA comes in 17th.The cost of living is calculated periodically in nearly representative baskets of consumer goods. But many factors complicate worldwide comparisons. E.g., a typical apartment doesn’t have a standard size nor fittings. Even the quality of a branded packet of butter isn't the same in developing countries. Consequently, comparisons like this have to to be looked at with caution.
In addition, the level of the prevailing average income should play a role in a cost comparison.
Cost of living and purchasing power related to average income
We adjusted the average cost of living inside the USA (based on 2022 and 2023) to an index of 100. All other countries are related to this index. Therefore with an index of e.g. 80, the usual expenses in another country are 20% less then in the United States.The monthly income (please do not confuse this with a wage or salary) is calculated from the gross national income per capita.
The calculated purchasing power index is again based on a value of 100 for the United States. If it is higher, people can afford more based on the cost of living in relation to income. If it is lower, the population is less wealthy.
The example of Switzerland:
With a cost of living index of 123 all goods are on average about 23% more expensive than in the USA. But the average income in Switzerland of 7,958 USD is also 24% higher, which means that citizens can also afford more goods. Now you calculate the 23% higher costs against the 24% higher income. In the result, people in Switzerland can still afford about 1 percent more than a US citizen.
Rank | Country/Region | Cost index | Ø Monthly income | Purchasing power index |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Iran | 151.3 | 332 USD | 3.4 |
2 | Bermuda * | 144.5 | 10,434 USD | 112.9 |
3 | Cayman Islands * | 140.4 | 5,167 USD | 57.5 |
4 | Turks and Caicos Islands * | 131.7 | 2,103 USD | 25.0 |
5 | Barbados | 123.5 | 1,624 USD | 20.6 |
6 | Switzerland | 123.0 | 7,958 USD | 101.1 |
7 | Bahamas | 114.9 | 2,627 USD | 35.7 |
8 | Israel | 114.9 | 4,595 USD | 62.5 |
9 | Iceland | 114.4 | 5,722 USD | 78.2 |
10 | Denmark | 104.9 | 6,127 USD | 91.3 |
11 | Vanuatu | 102.9 | 304 USD | 4.6 |
12 | New Caledonia * | 101.4 | 3,114 USD | 48.0 |
13 | Virgin Islands * | 101.0 | 1,161 USD | 18.0 |
14 | Norway | 100.9 | 7,878 USD | 122.1 |
15 | Australia | 100.5 | 5,070 USD | 78.8 |
16 | Ireland | 100.4 | 6,644 USD | 103.4 |
17 | United States | 100.0 | 6,398 USD | 100.0 |
18 | Luxembourg | 96.7 | 7,433 USD | 120.2 |
19 | New Zealand | 96.4 | 4,091 USD | 66.3 |
20 | Canada | 95.3 | 4,443 USD | 72.9 |
21 | Marshall Islands | 95.2 | 606 USD | 9.9 |
22 | Faroe Islands * | 93.0 | 6,202 USD | 104.2 |
23 | Micronesia | 92.7 | 345 USD | 5.8 |
24 | United Kingdom | 90.9 | 4,103 USD | 70.6 |
25 | Finland | 89.0 | 4,574 USD | 80.3 |
26 | Sweden | 86.4 | 5,292 USD | 95.7 |
27 | Aruba * | 84.3 | 2,784 USD | 51.6 |
28 | Netherlands | 82.2 | 5,019 USD | 95.4 |
29 | Belgium | 81.4 | 4,491 USD | 86.2 |
30 | Japan | 80.7 | 3,546 USD | 68.6 |
31 | San Marino | 80.2 | 3,927 USD | 76.5 |
32 | France | 78.0 | 3,774 USD | 75.6 |
33 | Qatar | 77.9 | 5,843 USD | 117.2 |
34 | Austria | 77.4 | 4,643 USD | 93.8 |
35 | Hong Kong * | 77.2 | 4,531 USD | 91.8 |
36 | Germany | 77.0 | 4,503 USD | 91.4 |
37 | Singapore | 75.8 | 5,600 USD | 115.5 |
38 | South Korea | 72.4 | 3,016 USD | 65.1 |
39 | United Arab Emirates | 72.3 | 4,097 USD | 88.6 |
40 | Italy | 71.1 | 3,183 USD | 70.0 |
41 | Estonia | 68.9 | 2,260 USD | 51.2 |
42 | Spain | 68.0 | 2,674 USD | 61.5 |
43 | Macao * | 66.7 | 3,640 USD | 85.3 |
44 | Greece | 62.3 | 1,818 USD | 45.6 |
45 | Portugal | 62.2 | 2,163 USD | 54.3 |
46 | Jamaica | 60.5 | 480 USD | 12.4 |
47 | Czechia | 59.5 | 2,175 USD | 57.2 |
48 | China | 56.7 | 1,071 USD | 29.5 |
49 | Haiti | 56.6 | 134 USD | 3.7 |
50 | Costa Rica | 56.5 | 1,077 USD | 29.8 |
51 | Chile | 55.7 | 1,280 USD | 35.9 |
52 | Mexico | 53.2 | 902 USD | 26.5 |
53 | Croatia | 51.9 | 1,633 USD | 49.2 |
54 | Saudi Arabia | 51.8 | 2,307 USD | 69.6 |
55 | El Salvador | 49.1 | 393 USD | 12.5 |
56 | Honduras | 48.5 | 229 USD | 7.4 |
57 | Brazil | 48.2 | 678 USD | 22.0 |
58 | Hungary | 48.0 | 1,584 USD | 51.6 |
59 | Ecuador | 46.5 | 525 USD | 17.7 |
60 | South Africa | 46.0 | 565 USD | 19.2 |
61 | Serbia | 45.1 | 774 USD | 26.8 |
62 | East Timor | 44.6 | 165 USD | 5.8 |
63 | Guatemala | 44.1 | 446 USD | 15.8 |
64 | Albania | 43.3 | 564 USD | 20.4 |
65 | Montenegro | 43.2 | 873 USD | 31.6 |
66 | Poland | 42.9 | 1,575 USD | 57.4 |
67 | Romania | 41.8 | 1,298 USD | 48.5 |
68 | Bulgaria | 41.3 | 1,113 USD | 42.1 |
69 | Nigeria | 40.7 | 180 USD | 6.9 |
70 | Russia | 40.5 | 1,063 USD | 41.0 |
71 | Morocco | 40.1 | 306 USD | 11.9 |
72 | Iraq | 38.5 | 439 USD | 17.8 |
73 | Georgia | 38.0 | 467 USD | 19.2 |
74 | Cambodia | 37.8 | 141 USD | 5.8 |
75 | Philippines | 37.6 | 329 USD | 13.7 |
76 | Colombia | 36.7 | 542 USD | 23.1 |
77 | Kenya | 36.0 | 181 USD | 7.8 |
78 | Indonesia | 35.0 | 382 USD | 17.1 |
79 | Malaysia | 34.0 | 986 USD | 45.3 |
80 | Bolivia | 33.5 | 291 USD | 13.6 |
81 | Argentina | 33.5 | 966 USD | 45.1 |
82 | Benin | 33.2 | 117 USD | 5.5 |
83 | Mongolia | 33.1 | 355 USD | 16.8 |
84 | Thailand | 33.1 | 603 USD | 28.5 |
85 | Cameroon | 32.0 | 137 USD | 6.7 |
86 | Bangladesh | 31.5 | 235 USD | 11.7 |
87 | Kazakhstan | 31.0 | 802 USD | 40.4 |
88 | Vietnam | 30.8 | 334 USD | 17.0 |
89 | Kyrgyzstan | 30.5 | 120 USD | 6.2 |
90 | Ukraine | 30.0 | 355 USD | 18.5 |
91 | Azerbaijan | 30.0 | 472 USD | 24.6 |
92 | Ghana | 29.9 | 198 USD | 10.4 |
93 | Turkey | 29.6 | 887 USD | 46.9 |
94 | Tajikistan | 29.2 | 101 USD | 5.4 |
95 | Tanzania | 28.4 | 100 USD | 5.5 |
96 | Algeria | 28.1 | 327 USD | 18.2 |
97 | Tunisia | 27.9 | 319 USD | 17.9 |
98 | Belarus | 27.8 | 601 USD | 33.7 |
99 | Uzbekistan | 27.2 | 183 USD | 10.5 |
100 | Nepal | 27.0 | 112 USD | 6.5 |
101 | Bhutan | 26.7 | 274 USD | 16.0 |
102 | Laos | 26.5 | 193 USD | 11.3 |
103 | Myanmar | 26.1 | 106 USD | 6.3 |
104 | Sri Lanka | 25.4 | 301 USD | 18.5 |
105 | India | 24.6 | 199 USD | 12.6 |
106 | Pakistan | 23.4 | 130 USD | 8.7 |
107 | Egypt | 22.9 | 342 USD | 23.3 |
108 | Zimbabwe | 22.5 | 143 USD | 9.9 |
109 | Palestine | 17.2 | 384 USD | 35.0 |
The calculated cost of living index is based on the OECD, the Worldbank, the IMF and Eurostat figures and has been completed by our own researches. It does not take into account the differences between poverty and wealth, as well as prices for goods that do not belong to normal needs. Therefore this list should be regarded as a mathematical theorem. Whether it is realistic to survive with a purchasing power index of 3.4 (Iran) does not matter in this table. This would correspond to about one-29th of the purchasing power inside the US.
Quality of life in relation to cost of living
In the search for a potential adopted country, the cost of living usually has the highest priority. However, other factors such as medical care or political stability should also be taken into account. In a further evaluation, we compare numerous factors of different countries in order to derive a ranking for the quality of life.Other indices
There are some other indices, e.g., the study by the Swiss bank UBS issued about every three years or from the EDA (Federal Departement of Foreign Affairs). Both studies refer only to some few and usually large cities in which UBS and Switzerland have representation.* The marked countries are not independent and sovereign states, but dependent territories of other states. Cf. also our article What is a country?