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Big Mac Index by Country

Big Mac Index by Country
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Introduction

The Big Mac Index, a measure of comparing the purchasing power parity (PPP) between countries, has been serving as a unique lens to understand the world economy. Utilizing the price of McDonald's ubiquitous Big Mac hamburger, this index offers a digestible perspective on the economic standing of nations across the globe.

The humble Big Mac helps us reveal economic disparities, reflecting the cost of living, labor cost, and economic health among the countries.

  • Switzerland topped the Big Mac Index with a score of 30.33%, leading it to be the most "expensive" country.
  • In contrast, Venezuela sits at the bottom of the list at -65.77%. This indicates that the country's currency is significantly undervalued, resulting in cheaper goods and services relative to other countries. 
  • Countries like the United States, Canada, and Lebanon are at the median, with respective scores of 0%, 1.97%, and -1.40%.
  • High-income and high cost of living countries such as Norway and Sweden have positive index scores of 21.63% and 8.53%, respectively. This suggests the higher purchasing prices in these countries compared to the US, the baseline.
  • Interestingly, many countries, spanning from Andorra to Vatican City, have identical scores of -7.47%, indicating that these economies have a similar cost of living when normalized to the price of a Big Mac.

By Country

Full Data Set

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology