Big Mac index for travelers

Like many people who have a passion for languages I like to travel when I can afford it.  But how can you quickly calculate the cost of a city -to travel or live in.  You need to compare apples and apples. You need a compratable market basket of goods which universally the same quality, priced accordingly to middle class supply and demand factors and even if you do not use these good (s) there is a high velocity of turnover around the world. A real tangible cost of living index.

Economics of a Big Mac

What a about a McDonald’s Big Mac.  There is something called a Big Mac index. I have to give the Economist full credit for this index; they also have a purchasing power parity (PPP) measure. It compares the price of a Big Mac in dollars, to the local currency’s relative valuation and also an index that measures the the average amount of time it costs to work to earn a Big Mac. This calculation levels the playing field.  So if you want a quick rule of thumb to reference before you travel to an exotic city and flex you language skills try the Big Mac index.

Big Mac index for linquists

Here are some examples of the cost of a Big Mac in US dollars in various countries from the Economist.  Sorted from most expensive to least.  Find your country, and tell me what you think about this.

Iceland 7.7799
Norway 7.2396
Switzerland 5.3088
Denmark 5.1399
Sweden 4.7182
Euro area 4.0529
Britain 4.0373
Turkey 3.4782
Canada 3.4375
Brazil 3.2587
Chile 3.2256
United States 3.22
New Zealand 3.1746
Venezuelan 3.1647
Hungary 3.1633
Columbia 3.1276
South Korea 3.0839
Peru 2.9803
Australia 2.8386
UAE 2.7223
Estonia 2.6426
Latvia 2.6398
Argentina 2.6033
Mexico 2.6013
Czech Republic 2.5972
Lithuania 2.5952
Poland 2.5051
Japan 2.471
Saudi Arabia 2.3994
Slovakia 2.3664
Singapore 2.3608
Uraguay 2.3231
Pakistan 2.307
Taiwan 2.2652
Costa Rica 2.1367
South Africa 2.135
Paraguay 1.9372
Russia 1.9186
Thailand 1.8849
Philippines 1.8172
Ukraine 1.7648
Indonesia 1.6874
Sri Lanka 1.6756
Egypt 1.5949
Malaysia 1.5635
Hong Kong 1.5422
China 1.4605

Related Articles to Big Mac index