According to a report by CEOWORLD magazine, Switzerland has been declared as the most expensive country in the world to live in. The list of the top twenty nations with the highest cost of living includes nine European countries, five Asian countries, one North American country, one African country, two countries from the Caribbean, and two countries from Oceania.
Following Switzerland, Norway has secured the second position, and Iceland, Japan, Denmark, Bahamas, Luxembourg, Israel, Singapore, and South Korea are in the top ten. If you are looking for a relatively cheaper place to live, you might want to consider the United States (20th), the United Kingdom (27th), Saudi Arabia (57th), or Russia (82nd), which are ranked lower on the list.
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; Cost of Living Index; and 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 a score below indicates 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, followed by Afghanistan, India, Syria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tunisia.
Most Expensive Countries In The World To Live In, 2024
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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