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Visualizing How The Cost Of Living Differs Around The World

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Authored...

How does the cost of living differ around the world?

To find out, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu visualized the results of Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index, which measures the price of goods, services, and rent relative to New York City (baseline of 100).

If a country has a value of 80, for example, it indicates that prices are 20% lower than they are in New York City.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization comes from Numbeo, the world’s largest crowd-sourced database of prices and living costs. The values shown in this infographic combine daily expenses with housing costs, providing a holistic measure of affordability.

RankCountryCost of Living &
Rent Index
1?? Cayman Islands94.3
2?? Switzerland82.3
3?? Singapore80.9
4?? Iceland75.2
5?? Bahamas68.7
6?? Hong Kong SAR65.6
7?? Guernsey62.5
8?? Luxembourg62.4
9?? Ireland57.0
10?? Norway56.8
11?? Netherlands54.7
12?? U.S.54.6
13?? Denmark54.3
14?? Isle Of Man52.5
15?? Israel51.8
16?? Papua New Guinea51.6
17?? UK50.6
18?? Australia49.5
19?? Austria49.1
20?? UAE48.7
21?? Canada48.1
22?? Germany47.6
23?? France46.0
24?? Belgium45.9
25?? Finland45.6
26?? Sweden44.9
27?? New Zealand44.9
28?? Macao SAR44.0
29?? South Korea42.9
30?? Cyprus42.8
31?? Puerto Rico42.7
32?? Qatar42.7
33?? Malta41.7
34?? Italy41.1
35?? Estonia38.5
36?? DRC37.9
37?? Spain37.7
38?? Slovenia37.6
39?? Portugal36.8
40?? Costa Rica36.6
41?? Maldives36.1
42?? Czech Republic35.9
43?? Jamaica35.6
44?? Bahrain35.2
45?? Uruguay35.2
46?? Guyana35.1
47?? Croatia35.0
48?? Panama34.6
49?? Greece34.4
50?? Japan34.3
51?? Lithuania34.3
52?? Taiwan34.2
53?? Senegal34.0
54?? Trinidad And Tobago33.9
55?? Brunei33.4
56?? Slovakia33.3
57?? Latvia32.7
58?? Poland32.7
59?? Kuwait32.5
60?? Ivory Coast32.1
61?? Albania31.3
62?? Yemen30.8
63?? Ethiopia30.7
64?? Cameroon30.5
65?? Hungary29.8
66?? Armenia29.7
67?? Montenegro29.7
68?? Serbia29.1
69?? Lebanon28.8
70?? Saudi Arabia28.6
71?? Belize28.3
72?? El Salvador28.2
73?? Palestine28.2
74?? Guatemala28.0
75?? Mexico28.0
76?? Turkey27.9
77?? Cuba27.8
78?? Oman27.5
79?? Bulgaria27.3
80?? Romania26.6
81?? Argentina26.6
82?? Russia26.5
83?? Botswana26.2
84?? Fiji26.2
85?? Mozambique25.8
86?? Thailand25.6
87?? Mauritius25.5
88?? Moldova25.3
89?? Chile25.1
90?? Nigeria24.9
91?? Jordan24.2
92?? Honduras24.1
93?? Dominican Republic24.0
94?? Namibia23.5
95?? Bosnia And Herzegovina23.4
96?? South Africa23.3
97?? Georgia23.2
98?? Mongolia23.2
99?? Zambia23.0
100?? Zimbabwe23.0
101?? Venezuela22.8
102?? Cambodia22.6
103?? North Macedonia22.4
104?? Ghana22.1
105?? Nicaragua22.0
106?? Malaysia21.5
107?? Rwanda21.4
108?? Peru21.4
109?? China21.2
110?? Sri Lanka21.1
111?? Azerbaijan20.7
112?? Morocco20.5
113?? Ecuador20.1
114?? Colombia19.9
115?? Philippines19.8
116?? Brazil19.7
117?? Kenya19.6
118?? Kazakhstan19.6
119?? Kyrgyzstan19.4
120?? Uzbekistan19.4
121?? Vietnam18.8
122?? Kosovo18.8
123?? Tajikistan18.6
124?? Belarus18.4
125?? Iraq18.3
126?? Ukraine18.2
127?? Uganda18.1
128?? Bolivia18.1
129?? Tunisia17.8
130?? Indonesia17.6
131?? Tanzania17.1
132?? Algeria16.7
133?? Paraguay16.6
134?? Iran16.2
135?? Madagascar15.4
136?? Syria15.0
137?? Nepal14.2
138?? Bangladesh13.0
139?? Egypt12.8
140?? India12.8
141?? Afghanistan11.6
142?? Libya11.3
143?? Pakistan11.3

The World’s Most Expensive Countries

At the top of the ranking sits the Cayman Islands (94.3). Its economy is driven by offshore finance, tourism, and real estate—all industries that attract wealthy residents and investors.

Switzerland (82.3) and Singapore (80.9) follow close behind, a reflection of their developed economies, high wages, and premium real estate markets.

European nations are also common in the top 20, with Iceland, Ireland, and Norway all appearing among the most expensive. These countries tend to offer high standards of living but also face the trade-off of elevated consumer prices.

The World’s Most Affordable Nations

At the other end of the spectrum, Pakistan (11.3), Libya (11.3), and Afghanistan (11.6) have the world’s lowest cost of living scores.

Much of South Asia, including India (12.8) and Bangladesh (13.0), also see prices that are roughly one-eighth of those in New York City. Both of these countries have massive young populations and relatively low wages, which keeps the cost of labor and services down.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Safest Countries in 2025 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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