Big Mac Index 2026: the latest results and what changed

In the July 2026 edition of The Economist’s Big Mac Index, the burger is most expensive in Switzerland at $9.04 and cheapest in Indonesia at $2.38. A US Big Mac costs $6.22, up 1.6% from $6.12 in January 2026. On the index’s raw measure, 12 of 53 currencies look overvalued against the dollar and 40 undervalued, with Indonesia’s the most undervalued at -62%. The biggest move since the last survey: Colombia, where the dollar price of a Big Mac rose 29%.

The July 2026 ranking

All prices are converted at the exchange rate on the survey date, as The Economist does. The “vs US” column is the index’s raw valuation: how much more or less the burger costs than in America, which the index reads as how far the currency is over- or undervalued.

The United States ranks #14 of 54 by dollar price, so a Big Mac is cheaper than in America in 40 economies. Among the big currencies, the euro area ($7.08) and Britain ($7.40) are both dearer than the US, while a Japanese Big Mac ($3.08) costs 50% less than an American one.

What changed since January 2026

A Big Mac’s dollar price can move for two reasons: McDonald’s changes the local menu price, or the local currency moves against the dollar. The table below splits the ten largest moves into those two parts.

The largest rise was in Colombia: $6.21 to $8.00, with the local menu price +13% and the currency contributing +14%. The largest fall was in Thailand, from $4.30 to $4.02, with no change at all on the local menu; the whole move came from the exchange rate.

Across the 53 economies in both surveys, 32 raised the local price, 21 kept it the same and none cut it. The steepest local increase was in Venezuela (+138%), the kind of rise that usually tracks high general inflation. In 23 economies the currency moved the dollar price more than the menu did. Some prices did not change at all locally and still moved noticeably in dollars: Thailand (-7%), Hungary (+6%), Brazil (+6%), Australia (+5%).

The biggest menu-price increases, in local money

Strip out exchange rates and look only at what McDonald’s charges at the counter, and a different list emerges. These are the largest local-currency increases between the two surveys:

• Venezuela: VES 1,370 to VES 3,267 (+138%), which in dollars became $4.51
• Turkey: TRY 255 to TRY 325 (+27%), which in dollars became $6.91
• Egypt: EGP 125 to EGP 145 (+16%), which in dollars became $2.87
• Israel: ₪20 to ₪23 (+15%), which in dollars became $7.67
• Moldova: MDL 70 to MDL 80 (+14%), which in dollars became $4.56

Big local increases do not always mean a dearer burger for visitors. Where the currency fell at the same time, much of the menu-price rise disappears once you convert it, which is exactly the pattern relative purchasing power parity predicts for high-inflation economies.

What the 2026 survey says about the dollar

In January 2026, a Big Mac was cheaper than in America in 42 of 53 economies; in July 2026, the count is 40. The median valuation against the dollar moved from -22% to -20%. On balance, other currencies gained ground on the dollar in burger terms: prices abroad rose faster than in America, the dollar weakened, or both. 26 currencies ended the half-year closer to burger parity with the dollar and 27 moved further away, a reminder that PPP is at best a slow pull, not a rule that exchange rates obey from one survey to the next.

Reading the over- and undervaluation verdicts

The index’s logic is purchasing power parity: if a burger costs less in dollars somewhere, that currency buys more than the exchange rate suggests, so it reads as undervalued. By that test the most overvalued currency in July 2026 is Switzerland’s (+45%) and the most undervalued is Indonesia’s (-62%).

Two cautions. First, a cheap burger often reflects cheap local labour and rent rather than a mispriced currency, which is why The Economist also publishes a GDP-adjusted version of the index; the figures here are the raw version. Second, these valuations use survey-day exchange rates. Our purchasing power parity explainer recalculates them at today’s rates and shows the implied exchange rate for each currency, and how the Big Mac Index works covers its history and blind spots.

Using the 2026 numbers

For travellers, the dollar column is a quick guide to how pricey eating out will feel. For residents, a better question is how long it takes to earn a burger, which our Big Mac Index page shows next to every price, using World Bank incomes. To see the burger alongside fuel, electricity, phones and streaming for one country, open its country page; Switzerland’s is here. The Economist updates the index twice a year, in January and July, and this page recalculates automatically when a new survey is published.