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Mapped: The Global Cost of Living Index 2025
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Key Takeaways
- Numbeo’s Global Cost of Living Index measures the price of goods, services, and rent relative to New York City (baseline of 100).
- Traditional wealth hubs like Switzerland and Singapore are the most expensive, while South Asian nations like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are the cheapest.
How does the cost of living differ around the world?
To find out, we visualized the results of Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index, which measures the price of goods, services, and rent relative to New York City (baseline of 100).
If a country has a value of 80, for example, it indicates that prices are 20% lower than they are in New York City.
Data & Discussion
The data for this visualization comes from Numbeo, the world’s largest crowd-sourced database of prices and living costs. The values shown in this infographic combine daily expenses with housing costs, providing a holistic measure of affordability.
| Rank | Country | Cost of Living & Rent Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cayman Islands | 94.3 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 82.3 |
| 3 | Singapore | 80.9 |
| 4 | Iceland | 75.2 |
| 5 | Bahamas | 68.7 |
| 6 | Hong Kong SAR | 65.6 |
| 7 | Guernsey | 62.5 |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 62.4 |
| 9 | Ireland | 57.0 |
| 10 | Norway | 56.8 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 54.7 |
| 12 | U.S. | 54.6 |
| 13 | Denmark | 54.3 |
| 14 | Isle Of Man | 52.5 |
| 15 | Israel | 51.8 |
| 16 | Papua New Guinea | 51.6 |
| 17 | UK | 50.6 |
| 18 | Australia | 49.5 |
| 19 | Austria | 49.1 |
| 20 | UAE | 48.7 |
| 21 | Canada | 48.1 |
| 22 | Germany | 47.6 |
| 23 | France | 46.0 |
| 24 | Belgium | 45.9 |
| 25 | Finland | 45.6 |
| 26 | Sweden | 44.9 |
| 27 | New Zealand | 44.9 |
| 28 | Macao SAR | 44.0 |
| 29 | South Korea | 42.9 |
| 30 | Cyprus | 42.8 |
| 31 | Puerto Rico | 42.7 |
| 32 | Qatar | 42.7 |
| 33 | Malta | 41.7 |
| 34 | Italy | 41.1 |
| 35 | Estonia | 38.5 |
| 36 | DRC | 37.9 |
| 37 | Spain | 37.7 |
| 38 | Slovenia | 37.6 |
| 39 | Portugal | 36.8 |
| 40 | Costa Rica | 36.6 |
| 41 | Maldives | 36.1 |
| 42 | Czech Republic | 35.9 |
| 43 | Jamaica | 35.6 |
| 44 | Bahrain | 35.2 |
| 45 | Uruguay | 35.2 |
| 46 | Guyana | 35.1 |
| 47 | Croatia | 35.0 |
| 48 | Panama | 34.6 |
| 49 | Greece | 34.4 |
| 50 | Japan | 34.3 |
| 51 | Lithuania | 34.3 |
| 52 | Taiwan | 34.2 |
| 53 | Senegal | 34.0 |
| 54 | Trinidad And Tobago | 33.9 |
| 55 | Brunei | 33.4 |
| 56 | Slovakia | 33.3 |
| 57 | Latvia | 32.7 |
| 58 | Poland | 32.7 |
| 59 | Kuwait | 32.5 |
| 60 | Ivory Coast | 32.1 |
| 61 | Albania | 31.3 |
| 62 | Yemen | 30.8 |
| 63 | Ethiopia | 30.7 |
| 64 | Cameroon | 30.5 |
| 65 | Hungary | 29.8 |
| 66 | Armenia | 29.7 |
| 67 | Montenegro | 29.7 |
| 68 | Serbia | 29.1 |
| 69 | Lebanon | 28.8 |
| 70 | Saudi Arabia | 28.6 |
| 71 | Belize | 28.3 |
| 72 | El Salvador | 28.2 |
| 73 | Palestine | 28.2 |
| 74 | Guatemala | 28.0 |
| 75 | Mexico | 28.0 |
| 76 | Turkey | 27.9 |
| 77 | Cuba | 27.8 |
| 78 | Oman | 27.5 |
| 79 | Bulgaria | 27.3 |
| 80 | Romania | 26.6 |
| 81 | Argentina | 26.6 |
| 82 | Russia | 26.5 |
| 83 | Botswana | 26.2 |
| 84 | Fiji | 26.2 |
| 85 | Mozambique | 25.8 |
| 86 | Thailand | 25.6 |
| 87 | Mauritius | 25.5 |
| 88 | Moldova | 25.3 |
| 89 | Chile | 25.1 |
| 90 | Nigeria | 24.9 |
| 91 | Jordan | 24.2 |
| 92 | Honduras | 24.1 |
| 93 | Dominican Republic | 24.0 |
| 94 | Namibia | 23.5 |
| 95 | Bosnia And Herzegovina | 23.4 |
| 96 | South Africa | 23.3 |
| 97 | Georgia | 23.2 |
| 98 | Mongolia | 23.2 |
| 99 | Zambia | 23.0 |
| 100 | Zimbabwe | 23.0 |
| 101 | Venezuela | 22.8 |
| 102 | Cambodia | 22.6 |
| 103 | North Macedonia | 22.4 |
| 104 | Ghana | 22.1 |
| 105 | Nicaragua | 22.0 |
| 106 | Malaysia | 21.5 |
| 107 | Rwanda | 21.4 |
| 108 | Peru | 21.4 |
| 109 | China | 21.2 |
| 110 | Sri Lanka | 21.1 |
| 111 | Azerbaijan | 20.7 |
| 112 | Morocco | 20.5 |
| 113 | Ecuador | 20.1 |
| 114 | Colombia | 19.9 |
| 115 | Philippines | 19.8 |
| 116 | Brazil | 19.7 |
| 117 | Kenya | 19.6 |
| 118 | Kazakhstan | 19.6 |
| 119 | Kyrgyzstan | 19.4 |
| 120 | Uzbekistan | 19.4 |
| 121 | Vietnam | 18.8 |
| 122 | Kosovo | 18.8 |
| 123 | Tajikistan | 18.6 |
| 124 | Belarus | 18.4 |
| 125 | Iraq | 18.3 |
| 126 | Ukraine | 18.2 |
| 127 | Uganda | 18.1 |
| 128 | Bolivia | 18.1 |
| 129 | Tunisia | 17.8 |
| 130 | Indonesia | 17.6 |
| 131 | Tanzania | 17.1 |
| 132 | Algeria | 16.7 |
| 133 | Paraguay | 16.6 |
| 134 | Iran | 16.2 |
| 135 | Madagascar | 15.4 |
| 136 | Syria | 15.0 |
| 137 | Nepal | 14.2 |
| 138 | Bangladesh | 13.0 |
| 139 | Egypt | 12.8 |
| 140 | India | 12.8 |
| 141 | Afghanistan | 11.6 |
| 142 | Libya | 11.3 |
| 143 | Pakistan | 11.3 |
The World’s Most Expensive Countries
At the top of the ranking sits the Cayman Islands (94.3). Its economy is driven by offshore finance, tourism, and real estate—all industries that attract wealthy residents and investors.
Switzerland (82.3) and Singapore (80.9) follow close behind, a reflection of their developed economies, high wages, and premium real estate markets.
European nations are also common in the top 20, with Iceland, Ireland, and Norway all appearing among the most expensive. These countries tend to offer high standards of living but also face the trade-off of elevated consumer prices.
The World’s Most Affordable Nations
At the other end of the spectrum, Pakistan (11.3), Libya (11.3), and Afghanistan (11.6) have the world’s lowest cost of living scores.
Much of South Asia, including India (12.8) and Bangladesh (13.0), also see prices that are roughly one-eighth of those in New York City. Both of these countries have massive young populations and relatively low wages, which keeps the cost of labor and services down.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Safest Countries in 2025 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.