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Cost of Living Index by Countries

What is the best place to live with low costs? Which country has the highest cost of living? Find the best country to live with your budget and see how Wise can help make your money go further - wherever you end up.

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Best place to live by region


Currently, the top 10 most expensive countries are Switzerland, Bahamas, Iceland, Singapore, Barbados, Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong (China), United States, and Australia. The lowest cost of living countries are Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, India, and Bangladesh.

Choosing the best place to live will depend a lot on your personal preferences - and naturally, you may have your own reasons for picking one geographic location over another. The ‘best’ place isn’t necessarily the cheapest or most expensive in any given region, of course, but lower costs of living can mean your money goes further if you’re on a fixed budget - while higher costs of living often correspond to places with strong infrastructure and a high quality of life. Here are a few picks by region, looking at different points on the cost of living index:

North America: The most expensive cities in North America are largely in the US - New York and San Francisco top the list, with famously costly housing, but great career opportunities. For cheaper locations in the US, check out Houston, Texas - or, if you’re more geographically mobile, Canadian cities such as Edmonton, Montreal or Quebec.

Europe: Costs of living across Europe vary widely - but the top 5 most expensive cities are all in Switzerland, known for an excellent quality of life and correspondingly high costs. For cheaper options, consider countries in the East - Sofia, Bulgaria, and Bucharest, Romania, both come in as cheaper options, while still offering stunning culture and history, and excellent food.

Asia: Hong Kong and Singapore dominate the top of the table here, drawing expat professionals in all fields - with high costs to match the lifestyle. For lower costs of living, the Indian subcontinent is the place to look - Bangalore is known as a vibrant city for startups, for example, and has low overall costs.

Oceania: Australia is known for its pleasant and laid back lifestyle - but it’s not cheap. Canberra and Sydney are the costliest cities. For lower living costs check out Auckland or Christchurch in New Zealand.

South America: On a global scale, costs in South America are on the low side. Montevideo in Uruguay offers a very high quality of life but has among the highest costs, while Bogota, Colombia is a fascinating capital city with low costs of living and a rich history to explore.

Africa: Addis Ababa in Ethiopia is one of the most expensive options for life in Africa, while some top tourist destinations, such as Cairo in Egypt and Marrakech in Morocco come in with surprisingly low costs overall while still offering vibrant expat experiences.

Middle East: The Middle East offers some moderate costs of living, with Dubai’s huge draw contributing to its high costs comparatively. Other options like Muscat in Oman are cheaper while still providing a glimpse into local life in the region.

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Cost of living index

RankingTop countries in the worldCost of living index

1

101.1

2

85.0

3

83.0

4

76.7

5

76.6

6

76.0

7

72.3

8

70.8

9

70.4

10

70.2

11

65.1

12

64.8

13

64.6

14

64.4

15

63.7

16

63.3

17

63.2

18

63.1

19

62.7

20

62.4

21

62.2

22

62.0

23

61.1

24

60.1

25

59.3

26

56.2

27

55.8

28

54.7

29

54.1

30

53.9

31

52.8

32

52.3

33

52.3

34

52.0

35

52.0

36

51.3

37

49.9

38

49.1

39

47.3

40

47.1

41

46.7

42

46.6

43

46.4

44

46.1

45

45.5

46

45.3

47

45.1

48

42.4

49

42.1

50

42.1

51

41.7

52

40.8

53

40.2

54

39.5

55

39.4

56

39.1

57

38.8

58

38.3

59

37.7

60

37.5

61

37.4

62

37.3

63

35.4

64

34.6

65

34.5

66

34.1

67

33.4

68

32.6

69

31.7

70

31.2

71

31.0

72

30.9

73

30.2

74

30.2

75

30.0

76

30.0

77

29.5

78

29.4

79

28.8

80

28.7

81

28.1

82

26.7

83

26.4

84

25.9

85

25.5

86

21.2

87

21.0

88

18.8

89

84.5

90

73.3

91

92.1

92

90.8

93

93.2

94

92.3

95

63.1

96

47.3

97

38.2

98

100.4

99

30.8

100

30.2

Source: Numbeo, Cost of living Comparison. Checked August 2024.

What caused the cost of living increase?

The cost of living is influenced by a range of complex and interconnected factors - but the chances are that you’ll have heard about cost of living increases in recent years. Here are a few of the reasons behind this.

  • Inflation: shortages of goods following the global pandemic, as well as increased energy costs have pushed up prices significantly in many areas;

  • Labour Market Dynamics: shortages of workers has meant higher wages and employer costs - which have been passed on to customers in the cost of goods;

  • Geopolitical Factors: Political instability and conflicts, as well as other trade tariffs or barriers can push up costs;

  • Monetary Policy: government policies and interventions, including low interest rates and quantitative easing, can increase the amount of money in circulation, contributing to higher prices;

  • Housing Market: high demand and low supply of housing, as well as rising construction costs, have meant that housing prices rise for home buyers and tenants;

  • Climate Change: extreme weather events can make it more difficult to produce food and move goods around the world, which results in rising costs.
Explore how the index is calculated

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