Most Expensive Countries In The World To Live In, 2020
Switzerland is officially the most expensive nation on earth to live in, according to a report from the CEOWORLD magazine. European countries were prominent on the most expensive list, of the top-twenty nations, nine were in Europe, five in Asia, one in North America, one in Africa, two in the Caribbean, and two in Oceania.
Norway ranks second in the list of the world’s most expensive countries to live, followed by Iceland, Japan, Denmark, Bahamas, Luxembourg, Israel, Singapore, and South Korea.
Should none of those appeals, a little further down the list you’ll find the United States (20th), the United Kingdom (27th), Saudi Arabia (57th), and Russia (82nd).
To identify the world’s most and least expensive countries to live in, CEOWORLD magazine collected and reviewed data from dozens of studies; consumer price index; Numbeo Cost of Living Index; numerous national; and international media reports. CEOWORLD magazine based its assessment on a range of living costs, such as accommodation, clothing, taxi fares, utility, internet, the price of groceries, transport, and eating out. The rankings are based on five major metrics: cost of living, rent, groceries, eating out and purchasing power.
These data are then compiled into an index, using the notoriously expensive city of New York City (NYC) as a benchmark. New York was given an index score of 100.
So a country with a score higher than 100 is more expensive than New York, while below signals that it is cheaper. As a reference point, the average score for Germany was 65.26, making it the 29th most expensive country in which to live.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the world’s most affordable country to live in, followed by Afghanistan, India, Syria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tunisia.
Most Expensive Countries In The World To Live In, 2020
Rank | Country | Cost of Living Index | Rent Index | Cost of Living Plus Rent Index | Groceries Index | Restaurant Price Index | Local Purchasing Power Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Switzerland | 122.4 | 50.25 | 87.89 | 120.27 | 123.01 | 119.53 |
2 | Norway | 101.43 | 36.15 | 70.21 | 91.14 | 109.28 | 88.38 |
3 | Iceland | 100.48 | 46.95 | 74.88 | 86.89 | 113.74 | 79.44 |
4 | Japan | 83.35 | 25.97 | 55.9 | 81.82 | 48.95 | 87.28 |
5 | Denmark | 83 | 31.92 | 58.57 | 61.74 | 100.75 | 100.88 |
6 | Bahamas | 82.51 | 36.36 | 60.43 | 62.65 | 83.66 | 54.18 |
7 | Luxembourg | 81.89 | 54.92 | 68.99 | 69.1 | 89.85 | 103.92 |
8 | Israel | 81.15 | 31.33 | 57.32 | 66.31 | 88.65 | 78.09 |
9 | Singapore | 81.1 | 63.27 | 72.58 | 66.75 | 58.99 | 88.96 |
10 | South Korea | 78.18 | 22.86 | 51.72 | 91.31 | 44.87 | 85.21 |
11 | Hong Kong | 77.22 | 79.57 | 78.35 | 75.94 | 54.36 | 65.32 |
12 | Barbados | 76.02 | 19.7 | 49.08 | 65.2 | 68.14 | 51.1 |
13 | Ireland | 75.91 | 43.88 | 60.59 | 58.35 | 81.24 | 80.88 |
14 | France | 74.14 | 25.39 | 50.82 | 67.9 | 72.54 | 80.36 |
15 | Netherlands | 73.75 | 35.18 | 55.3 | 55.87 | 80.48 | 90.73 |
16 | Australia | 73.54 | 34.86 | 55.04 | 67.23 | 70.32 | 107.31 |
17 | New Zealand | 72.53 | 32.09 | 53.19 | 64.69 | 68.8 | 92.66 |
18 | Belgium | 71.78 | 25.43 | 49.61 | 58.66 | 80.14 | 86.28 |
19 | Seychelles | 71.59 | 32.34 | 52.81 | 64.61 | 84.86 | 21.67 |
20 | United States | 71.05 | 40.32 | 56.36 | 66.61 | 70.74 | 109.52 |
21 | Austria | 70.38 | 26.81 | 49.54 | 61.73 | 68.09 | 82.38 |
22 | Finland | 70.29 | 26.16 | 49.18 | 56.52 | 76.81 | 99.93 |
23 | Sweden | 69.85 | 25.9 | 48.83 | 60.47 | 72.35 | 101.73 |
24 | Canada | 67.62 | 30.73 | 49.98 | 63.68 | 63.53 | 95.09 |
25 | Puerto Rico | 67.54 | 19.29 | 44.46 | 65.76 | 58.68 | 79.38 |
26 | Malta | 67.46 | 31.04 | 50.04 | 54.9 | 75.94 | 46.32 |
27 | United Kingdom | 67.28 | 29.85 | 49.38 | 51.27 | 74.13 | 91.73 |
28 | Italy | 67.26 | 21.22 | 45.24 | 55.44 | 72.32 | 65.59 |
29 | Germany | 65.26 | 27.06 | 46.99 | 49.23 | 61.58 | 102.36 |
30 | Macao | 64.84 | 43.98 | 54.87 | 62 | 43.37 | 80.9 |
31 | Qatar | 64.04 | 47.44 | 56.1 | 53.61 | 66.83 | 111.69 |
32 | United Arab Emirates | 61.98 | 41.07 | 51.98 | 47.63 | 61.32 | 91.58 |
33 | Taiwan | 61.37 | 16.42 | 39.87 | 71.51 | 28.49 | 65.67 |
34 | Lebanon | 60.5 | 24.54 | 43.3 | 43.92 | 58.16 | 44.47 |
35 | Bahrain | 58.94 | 30.95 | 45.55 | 48.11 | 54.55 | 57.88 |
36 | Cyprus | 57.93 | 20.54 | 40.05 | 44.21 | 63.11 | 57.41 |
37 | Jamaica | 57.82 | 15.25 | 37.46 | 58.96 | 38.12 | 32.37 |
38 | Greece | 55.67 | 11.68 | 34.62 | 41.63 | 53.74 | 43.68 |
39 | Zimbabwe | 55.3 | 11.02 | 34.12 | 50.8 | 40.79 | 26.03 |
40 | Palestinian Territory | 54.54 | 8.83 | 32.68 | 46.67 | 38.93 | 46.91 |
41 | Ethiopia | 54.39 | 20.9 | 38.37 | 36.3 | 19.37 | 8.34 |
42 | Panama | 54.16 | 24.76 | 40.09 | 53.03 | 47.27 | 34.23 |
43 | Costa Rica | 53.98 | 15.55 | 35.6 | 49.6 | 43.51 | 42.61 |
44 | Spain | 53.77 | 21.77 | 38.46 | 42.38 | 52.07 | 72.03 |
45 | Trinidad And Tobago | 53.7 | 17.26 | 36.27 | 49.43 | 49.83 | 45.7 |
46 | Jordan | 53.67 | 11.54 | 33.52 | 43.32 | 47.12 | 34.88 |
47 | Slovenia | 53.43 | 17.09 | 36.05 | 43.76 | 45.43 | 66.31 |
48 | Mauritius | 53.04 | 11.99 | 33.41 | 48.94 | 43.96 | 30.88 |
49 | Uruguay | 51.04 | 14.43 | 33.53 | 40.12 | 47.41 | 37.46 |
50 | Estonia | 50.93 | 15.41 | 33.94 | 36.57 | 52.94 | 71.3 |
51 | Kuwait | 50.37 | 31.21 | 41.21 | 34.68 | 47.08 | 85.59 |
52 | Thailand | 49.77 | 17.1 | 34.14 | 49.2 | 24.9 | 35.45 |
53 | Croatia | 49.7 | 13.5 | 32.38 | 39.9 | 42.44 | 50.42 |
54 | Portugal | 49.52 | 21.81 | 36.27 | 38.14 | 42.48 | 49.43 |
55 | Oman | 49.28 | 17.98 | 34.31 | 43.5 | 44.26 | 80.97 |
56 | Belize | 49.23 | 9.74 | 30.34 | 41.89 | 37.05 | 57.53 |
57 | Saudi Arabia | 48.34 | 11.39 | 30.67 | 37.89 | 33.51 | 100 |
58 | Latvia | 47.94 | 12.34 | 30.91 | 34.85 | 42.88 | 52.48 |
59 | Cambodia | 47.49 | 14.9 | 31.9 | 44.56 | 25.19 | 11.29 |
60 | Fiji | 47.48 | 18.55 | 33.64 | 52.67 | 35.87 | 33.17 |
61 | Czech Republic | 46.15 | 19.56 | 33.43 | 38.13 | 34.1 | 62.82 |
62 | El Salvador | 45.57 | 13.48 | 30.22 | 43.67 | 34.8 | 24.71 |
63 | Brunei | 44.71 | 23.08 | 34.36 | 37.11 | 38.06 | 86.95 |
64 | Nicaragua | 44.56 | 7.61 | 26.88 | 41.71 | 31.41 | 23.92 |
65 | Slovakia | 44.46 | 16.11 | 30.9 | 37.51 | 33.82 | 56.94 |
66 | Lithuania | 44.28 | 13.65 | 29.63 | 33.63 | 42.7 | 57.85 |
67 | Dominican Republic | 44.06 | 10.62 | 28.06 | 35.93 | 38.27 | 23.95 |
68 | Chile | 43.62 | 13.39 | 29.16 | 36.45 | 41.57 | 42.5 |
69 | Cuba | 43.46 | 4.84 | 24.99 | 37.4 | 30.95 | 2.18 |
70 | Suriname | 43.14 | 7.79 | 26.23 | 45.78 | 34.98 | 22.39 |
71 | Namibia | 43.1 | 16.12 | 30.19 | 36.8 | 39.22 | 55.65 |
72 | South Africa | 42.87 | 16.61 | 30.31 | 33.29 | 40.58 | 73.61 |
73 | Guatemala | 42.7 | 15.29 | 29.59 | 37.41 | 33 | 39.83 |
74 | Honduras | 42.17 | 10.6 | 27.07 | 33.33 | 30.55 | 30.26 |
75 | Myanmar | 42.11 | 23.78 | 33.35 | 44.68 | 19.04 | 10.22 |
76 | Ecuador | 40.98 | 11.96 | 27.1 | 35.46 | 30.66 | 36.08 |
77 | Hungary | 40.85 | 13.97 | 27.99 | 30.77 | 34.46 | 47.55 |
78 | Brazil | 40.22 | 10.65 | 26.08 | 29.2 | 30.78 | 32.81 |
79 | Kenya | 40.21 | 10.73 | 26.11 | 35.35 | 35.06 | 27.32 |
80 | China | 40.04 | 16.38 | 28.72 | 40.37 | 29.16 | 60.88 |
81 | Poland | 40.04 | 15.67 | 28.38 | 30.55 | 33.45 | 59.61 |
82 | Russia | 39.21 | 11.36 | 25.89 | 31.08 | 39.61 | 38.94 |
83 | Botswana | 39.13 | 11.12 | 25.73 | 31.74 | 39.98 | 58.1 |
84 | Malaysia | 39.12 | 11 | 25.67 | 37.58 | 22.94 | 64.49 |
85 | Iraq | 39.04 | 11.28 | 25.76 | 31.85 | 32.72 | 42.43 |
86 | Iran | 39.01 | 14.48 | 27.28 | 35.54 | 25.12 | 22.69 |
87 | Somalia | 38.68 | 4.75 | 22.45 | 45.88 | 27.04 | 33.24 |
88 | Peru | 38.65 | 12.78 | 26.28 | 33.8 | 24.69 | 33.95 |
89 | Vietnam | 38.34 | 13.57 | 26.5 | 37.06 | 19.59 | 28.14 |
90 | Montenegro | 38.23 | 10.38 | 24.91 | 28.63 | 33.16 | 39.8 |
91 | Ghana | 37.65 | 19.41 | 28.93 | 37.17 | 26.59 | 14.66 |
92 | Philippines | 37.63 | 9 | 23.94 | 33.46 | 20.84 | 23.48 |
93 | Indonesia | 37.27 | 10.62 | 24.52 | 37.36 | 18.25 | 25.05 |
94 | Bulgaria | 36.7 | 9.64 | 23.75 | 30.09 | 29.14 | 49.37 |
95 | Albania | 36.39 | 8.55 | 23.07 | 28.39 | 26.75 | 29.56 |
96 | Bosnia And Herzegovina | 35.97 | 6.72 | 21.97 | 28.08 | 25.1 | 41.83 |
97 | Mexico | 35.72 | 11.46 | 24.11 | 32.39 | 32.12 | 41.81 |
98 | Serbia | 35.72 | 9.08 | 22.98 | 25.46 | 28.63 | 36.72 |
99 | Romania | 35.31 | 10.05 | 23.22 | 29.03 | 30.5 | 48.86 |
100 | Tanzania | 35.25 | 14.04 | 25.11 | 29.66 | 22.57 | 17.58 |
101 | Belarus | 34.7 | 10.5 | 23.13 | 28.06 | 38.94 | 37 |
102 | Turkey | 34.69 | 6.78 | 21.34 | 29.76 | 24.16 | 40.85 |
103 | Bolivia | 34.56 | 10.93 | 23.26 | 28.09 | 25.11 | 39.34 |
104 | Morocco | 34.32 | 8.94 | 22.18 | 30.11 | 24.5 | 35.25 |
105 | Moldova | 33.7 | 8.4 | 21.6 | 25.96 | 27.79 | 27.57 |
106 | Rwanda | 33.35 | 11.88 | 23.08 | 26.83 | 29.17 | 19.32 |
107 | Ukraine | 33.18 | 10.46 | 22.31 | 26.01 | 26.42 | 31.8 |
108 | Argentina | 32.95 | 8.33 | 21.17 | 25.82 | 30.52 | 47.22 |
109 | Armenia | 32.84 | 10.91 | 22.35 | 25.61 | 30.43 | 28 |
110 | Bangladesh | 32.25 | 5.01 | 19.22 | 29.72 | 19.21 | 33.21 |
111 | Zambia | 31.72 | 7.39 | 20.08 | 26.86 | 22.07 | 54.14 |
112 | Sri Lanka | 31.61 | 7.74 | 20.2 | 35.09 | 18.76 | 24.45 |
113 | Macedonia | 31.59 | 6.49 | 19.58 | 24.94 | 23.31 | 37.15 |
114 | Paraguay | 31.1 | 9.66 | 20.85 | 25.03 | 25.01 | 32.6 |
115 | Nigeria | 31 | 23.59 | 27.45 | 31.15 | 17.71 | 13.52 |
116 | Colombia | 30.66 | 9.58 | 20.58 | 25.05 | 22.44 | 31.12 |
117 | Kazakhstan | 30.64 | 9.78 | 20.66 | 24.31 | 29.87 | 38.36 |
118 | Uganda | 30.18 | 10.15 | 20.6 | 25.25 | 22.14 | 20.5 |
119 | Algeria | 30.1 | 5.34 | 18.26 | 30.71 | 15.89 | 28.69 |
120 | Azerbaijan | 29.92 | 9.48 | 20.15 | 23.74 | 30.36 | 30.2 |
121 | Egypt | 29.54 | 5.49 | 18.04 | 25.5 | 23.53 | 22.41 |
122 | Nepal | 29.05 | 4.77 | 17.44 | 24.91 | 20.36 | 21.9 |
123 | Georgia | 28.48 | 9.8 | 19.54 | 23.05 | 26.66 | 24.88 |
124 | Kosovo | 28.47 | 8.47 | 18.91 | 26.53 | 21.04 | 48.9 |
125 | Venezuela | 27.17 | 6.81 | 17.43 | 28.29 | 24.41 | 2.61 |
126 | Tunisia | 27.04 | 5.51 | 16.74 | 25.25 | 14.95 | 34.45 |
127 | Kyrgyzstan | 26.97 | 9.18 | 18.46 | 23.39 | 21.45 | 24.98 |
128 | Uzbekistan | 26.01 | 7.54 | 17.18 | 21.59 | 20.17 | 24.31 |
129 | Syria | 25.31 | 5.68 | 15.92 | 22.42 | 21.38 | 11.46 |
130 | India | 24.58 | 5.68 | 15.54 | 24.55 | 17.17 | 54.3 |
131 | Afghanistan | 24.24 | 4.03 | 14.58 | 17.7 | 17.38 | 28.2 |
132 | Pakistan (Islamic Republic of) | 21.98 | 4.59 | 13.66 | 19.08 | 16.78 | 30.57 |
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