The Big Mac Index
Invented by The Economist in 1986, the Big Mac index is a light-hearted but genuinely useful way to compare prices across countries. Because the burger is made to a near-identical recipe everywhere, its price is a clean read on what a currency actually buys. Below: the dollar price in 54 countries, and how many minutes the average worker labours to afford one.
Cheapest to most expensive, in US dollars
- 1$2.47🇹🇼Taiwan
- 2$2.51🇮🇳India
- 3$2.52🇮🇩Indonesia
- 4$2.65🇪🇬Egypt
- 5$2.84🇵🇭Philippines
- 6$2.89🇻🇳Vietnam
- 7$3.03🇯🇵Japan
- 8$3.19🇺🇦Ukraine
- 9$3.21🇭🇰Hong Kong
- 10$3.36🇿🇦South Africa
- 11$3.39🇲🇾Malaysia
- 12$3.53🇯🇴Jordan
- 13$3.66🇨🇳China
- 14$3.74🇰🇷South Korea
- 15$3.86🇵🇰Pakistan
- 16$3.91🇦🇿Azerbaijan
- 17$3.97🇴🇲Oman
- 18$3.98🇷🇴Romania
- 19$4.04🇻🇪Venezuela
- 20$4.09🇲🇩Moldova
- 21$4.30🇬🇹Guatemala
- 22$4.30🇹🇭Thailand
- 23$4.45🇧🇷Brazil
- 24$4.54🇰🇼Kuwait
- 25$4.67🇶🇦Qatar
- 26$4.75🇳🇮Nicaragua
- 27$4.77🇧🇭Bahrain
- 28$4.94🇳🇿New Zealand
- 29$4.99🇭🇺Hungary
- 30$5.03🇵🇪Peru
- 31$5.06🇭🇳Honduras
- 32$5.07🇸🇦Saudi Arabia
- 33$5.17🇦🇪United Arab Emirates
- 34$5.36🇱🇧Lebanon
- 35$5.42🇨🇱Chile
- 36$5.50🇨🇿Czech Republic
- 37$5.53🇦🇷Argentina
- 38$5.54🇨🇦Canada
- 39$5.69🇦🇺Australia
- 40$5.78🇸🇬Singapore
- 41$5.90🇹🇷Turkey
- 42$6.04🇨🇷Costa Rica
- 43$6.12🇺🇸United States
- 44$6.17🇲🇽Mexico
- 45$6.21🇨🇴Colombia
- 46$6.25🇵🇱Poland
- 47$6.36🇮🇱Israel
- 48$7.05🇪🇺Euro area
- 49$7.08🇬🇧Britain
- 50$7.14🇩🇰Denmark
- 51$7.26🇸🇪Sweden
- 52$7.52🇳🇴Norway
- 53$8.76🇺🇾Uruguay
- 54$9.08🇨🇭Switzerland
Minutes of work for a Big Mac
The dollar price divided by the local hourly wage (World Bank income over a 2,080-hour work year). This is the honest cost.
- 16 min🇭🇰Hong Kong
$3.21 a burger
- 28 min🇶🇦Qatar
$4.67 a burger
- 39 min🇺🇸United States
$6.12 a burger
- 49 min🇸🇬Singapore
$5.78 a burger
- 510 min🇳🇴Norway
$7.52 a burger
- 610 min🇯🇵Japan
$3.03 a burger
- 710 min🇨🇭Switzerland
$9.08 a burger
- 811 min🇦🇺Australia
$5.69 a burger
- 912 min🇩🇰Denmark
$7.14 a burger
- 1012 min🇨🇦Canada
$5.54 a burger
- 1112 min🇰🇷South Korea
$3.74 a burger
- 1213 min🇦🇪United Arab Emirates
$5.17 a burger
- 1313 min🇳🇿New Zealand
$4.94 a burger
- 1414 min🇰🇼Kuwait
$4.54 a burger
- 1514 min🇮🇱Israel
$6.36 a burger
- 1614 min🇸🇪Sweden
$7.26 a burger
- 1716 min🇬🇧Britain
$7.08 a burger
- 1818 min🇸🇦Saudi Arabia
$5.07 a burger
- 1921 min🇧🇭Bahrain
$4.77 a burger
- 2021 min🇨🇿Czech Republic
$5.50 a burger
- 2125 min🇷🇴Romania
$3.98 a burger
- 2225 min🇴🇲Oman
$3.97 a burger
- 2326 min🇭🇺Hungary
$4.99 a burger
- 2431 min🇵🇱Poland
$6.25 a burger
- 2532 min🇨🇳China
$3.66 a burger
- 2634 min🇲🇾Malaysia
$3.39 a burger
- 2740 min🇨🇱Chile
$5.42 a burger
- 2842 min🇨🇷Costa Rica
$6.04 a burger
- 2945 min🇹🇷Turkey
$5.90 a burger
- 3046 min🇺🇾Uruguay
$8.76 a burger
- 3147 min🇦🇷Argentina
$5.53 a burger
- 3253 min🇧🇷Brazil
$4.45 a burger
- 3356 min🇲🇽Mexico
$6.17 a burger
- 341.0 hrs🇮🇩Indonesia
$2.52 a burger
- 351.1 hrs🇲🇩Moldova
$4.09 a burger
- 361.1 hrs🇦🇿Azerbaijan
$3.91 a burger
- 371.1 hrs🇿🇦South Africa
$3.36 a burger
- 381.2 hrs🇹🇭Thailand
$4.30 a burger
- 391.2 hrs🇺🇦Ukraine
$3.19 a burger
- 401.2 hrs🇻🇳Vietnam
$2.89 a burger
- 411.2 hrs🇵🇭Philippines
$2.84 a burger
- 421.2 hrs🇵🇪Peru
$5.03 a burger
- 431.4 hrs🇯🇴Jordan
$3.53 a burger
- 441.4 hrs🇬🇹Guatemala
$4.30 a burger
- 451.6 hrs🇨🇴Colombia
$6.21 a burger
- 461.7 hrs🇪🇬Egypt
$2.65 a burger
- 471.9 hrs🇮🇳India
$2.51 a burger
- 482.2 hrs🇻🇪Venezuela
$4.04 a burger
- 493.1 hrs🇱🇧Lebanon
$5.36 a burger
- 503.2 hrs🇭🇳Honduras
$5.06 a burger
- 513.5 hrs🇳🇮Nicaragua
$4.75 a burger
- 525.4 hrs🇵🇰Pakistan
$3.86 a burger
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index (CC-BY) + World Bank GNI per capita, retrieved 2026-07-03. Converted at current exchange rates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Big Mac Index?
It's a currency-comparison tool from The Economist. By pricing an identical product (a Big Mac) in each country and comparing to the US price, it estimates whether a currency is over- or under-valued against the dollar.
Which country has the cheapest Big Mac?
Right now the cheapest Big Mac in dollar terms is in Taiwan at $2.47, and the most expensive is in Switzerland at $9.08.
Why show minutes of work instead of price?
A $3 burger is trivial on a Swiss wage and a real expense on a lower income. Converting the price into minutes of work at the local wage captures affordability, not just the exchange rate.
How current is this data?
This snapshot is from The Economist's 2026-01-01 survey, combined with the latest World Bank income figures. We rebuild whenever a new survey is published.