Big Mac Index

[Niko]

Japan is the cheapest country in the world to live

Is the above statement too bold of a claim? Many complain of the high costs of living in Japan, but according to the recent McDonalds Big Mac Index, Tokyo is the cheapest city in the world to live.

Hard to believe? Well, the proof lies with the cost of a Big Mac hamburger.

To buy a Big Mac, you will need to work for a total of:

• 10 minutes in Tokyo.
• 13 minutes in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Miami.
• 14 minutes if Sydney, Auckland and Toronto.
• 67 minutes in Bangkok, Thailand.
• 90 minutes in Nairobi, Kenya.

So are the above stats are a lot of garbage and just a hilarious way to judge a country's purchasing power? Not so. The Big Mac index now carries a lot of weighting, and these figures are compiled every 3 years by Swiss giant UBS Banking.

Many people are looking at the wrong figures when making claims about how expensive it is to live in a certain part of the world. There are 2 important figures not to be confused with:

1. Cost of a basket of goods
2. Purchasing power

Travelling in a country where the cost of a basket of goods is expensive, will mean that your spending dollar wont go so far.
Working in a country where the purchasing power is very strong, will mean that your earning dollar will go a long way.

So, to summarise in 1 sentence:

If you want to save, teach in Tokyo. If you want to travel, skip Tokyo.

Don't just take our word for it, but see the full article on the McDonalds index and McDonalds city rankings.