Everyday living costs rose in 128 of the 142 countries ranked by Numbeo in both mid-2025 and mid-2026, with a median increase of 6.9% (Boston Report calculation).[1][2] Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Switzerland top the mid-2026 list, while India, Libya and Nigeria are the least expensive.[1]
Related: Consumer Prices Rose 0.4% in October as Food Costs Jumped.
How the index works
Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index compares the price of everyday goods and services, including groceries, dining out, transportation and utilities, with New York City, which is set at 100.[3] It leaves out rent, which has its own index.[3] A score of 120 means everyday costs about 20% above New York; a score of 50 means about half.[3]
Because every country is measured against New York, a score can move with exchange rates against the U.S. dollar as well as with local prices (Boston Report analysis).
The most expensive countries
Six countries and territories score above New York City: Bermuda at 135.8, the Cayman Islands at 119.9, Switzerland at 109.8, and the Solomon Islands, Turkmenistan and the Bahamas just above 100.[1] Iceland, Jersey, Singapore, Israel and Norway follow, all above 85.[1]
The 15 most expensive countries
The United States ranks 22nd at 69.7, up from 64.8 a year earlier.[1][2] That is a 7.6% rise (Boston Report calculation). Its rent index fell from 41.3 to 37.1 over the same period, and its purchasing power score of 144.5 is among the highest in the ranking.[1][2]
Where costs changed most
Paraguay posted the largest rise, 40.4%, followed by Israel at 28.7%, Belarus at 27.7% and Colombia at 27.1% (Boston Report calculation).[1][2] Israel’s jump took it from 69.6 to 89.6, into the top 10.[1][2]
Only 14 countries became cheaper by this measure. Papua New Guinea fell 27.0%, Botswana 24.0% and Nigeria 21.4%, while South Korea dropped 9.1% and Japan 2.7%.[1][2]
Biggest rises and falls over the year
+40.4%
+28.7%
+27.7%
+27.1%
+23.0%
+22.9%
+22.5%
+21.6%
The world’s major economies
Among large economies, Australia rose 13.3% and Mexico 18.1%, while Canada barely moved at 1.0% (Boston Report calculation).[1][2] The United Kingdom rose 6.2%, Germany 5.1% and China 4.4%.[1][2]
Major economies, a year apart
What official inflation shows
Official consumer price data tell a different story in some places, because they measure prices in local currency. Turkey’s consumer prices rose 34.9% in 2025 and Nigeria’s 23.0%, while China’s rose 0.1% and Switzerland’s 0.2%.[4]
Official inflation in 2025
Nigeria shows how the two measures can split. Its official inflation was among the highest in the world in 2025, yet its Numbeo score fell over the year, a gap consistent with a weaker currency against the dollar (Boston Report analysis).[4][1][2]
Full table: cost of living by country
Search for any country, or sort by any column. Rent, groceries and purchasing power are also Numbeo indexes against New York City; higher purchasing power means local salaries buy more.[3][1]
| Country | Index mid-2026 | Mid-2025 | Change | Rent | Groceries | Purchasing power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bermuda | 135.8 | — | — | 105.9 | 149.0 | 104.3 |
| Cayman Islands | 119.9 | 108.2 | +10.8% | 74.1 | 126.9 | 144.9 |
| Switzerland | 109.8 | 106.8 | +2.8% | 47.9 | 109.5 | 165.7 |
| Solomon Islands | 104.1 | — | — | 20.2 | 66.8 | 13.2 |
| Turkmenistan | 101.6 | — | — | 23.9 | 116.3 | 18.5 |
| Bahamas | 101.3 | 85.4 | +18.6% | 48.5 | 102.5 | 58.5 |
| Iceland | 97.6 | 94.5 | +3.3% | 47.7 | 106.3 | 113.6 |
| Jersey | 91.1 | — | — | 48.5 | 80.1 | 101.8 |
| Singapore | 90.8 | 85.3 | +6.4% | 68.3 | 84.9 | 91.3 |
| Israel | 89.6 | 69.6 | +28.7% | 35.2 | 86.4 | 115.0 |
| Norway | 85.5 | 78.9 | +8.4% | 28.2 | 89.4 | 123.2 |
| Luxembourg | 78.6 | 73.5 | +6.9% | 47.1 | 78.1 | 155.1 |
| Denmark | 78.6 | 74.1 | +6.1% | 26.6 | 74.3 | 141.2 |
| Isle of Man | 77.9 | 68.6 | +13.6% | 31.6 | 71.5 | 96.6 |
| Hong Kong (China) | 76.4 | 72.2 | +5.8% | 59.1 | 76.2 | 85.0 |
| Netherlands | 73.0 | 68.1 | +7.2% | 35.9 | 67.4 | 124.3 |
| Guernsey | 72.8 | 70.2 | +3.7% | 54.7 | 77.1 | 146.9 |
| Australia | 71.4 | 63.0 | +13.3% | 33.1 | 82.2 | 134.8 |
| Gibraltar | 70.9 | — | — | 50.9 | 63.8 | 83.3 |
| Ireland | 70.8 | 66.6 | +6.3% | 41.4 | 70.6 | 113.0 |
| Austria | 70.8 | 67.6 | +4.7% | 23.8 | 72.1 | 114.2 |
| United States | 69.7 | 64.8 | +7.6% | 37.1 | 76.4 | 144.5 |
| Finland | 68.5 | 64.5 | +6.2% | 20.1 | 69.3 | 119.8 |
| Belgium | 68.3 | 63.6 | +7.4% | 22.0 | 68.1 | 117.1 |
| United Kingdom | 68.2 | 64.2 | +6.2% | 30.1 | 64.8 | 118.2 |
| Germany | 68.0 | 64.7 | +5.1% | 22.0 | 64.6 | 130.0 |
| Seychelles | 67.7 | — | — | 26.8 | 76.8 | 31.5 |
| France | 66.9 | 64.4 | +3.9% | 20.6 | 73.8 | 113.3 |
| Sweden | 65.5 | 62.8 | +4.3% | 20.1 | 67.5 | 128.6 |
| Puerto Rico | 65.0 | 59.8 | +8.7% | 23.0 | 72.0 | 109.9 |
| Macao (China) | 64.0 | 56.0 | +14.3% | 27.3 | 81.7 | 78.8 |
| Canada | 61.3 | 60.7 | +1.0% | 29.1 | 69.2 | 114.8 |
| Italy | 61.3 | 57.2 | +7.2% | 18.9 | 63.8 | 85.5 |
| New Zealand | 60.2 | 59.3 | +1.5% | 24.6 | 67.5 | 119.4 |
| Estonia | 59.4 | 55.9 | +6.3% | 15.2 | 55.3 | 88.7 |
| Jamaica | 58.1 | 50.1 | +16.0% | 18.5 | 68.6 | 34.6 |
| Cyprus | 57.4 | 55.2 | +4.0% | 24.6 | 54.5 | 81.3 |
| Yemen | 57.1 | 50.1 | +14.0% | 6.2 | 74.7 | 16.6 |
| Malta | 56.9 | 53.1 | +7.2% | 27.2 | 57.2 | 76.6 |
| Costa Rica | 56.8 | 50.3 | +12.9% | 21.1 | 65.4 | 49.1 |
| South Korea | 56.7 | 62.4 | -9.1% | 13.6 | 72.2 | 101.7 |
| United Arab Emirates | 55.6 | 53.4 | +4.1% | 36.3 | 45.4 | 113.4 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 54.4 | 49.4 | +10.1% | 14.1 | 57.4 | 42.7 |
| Uruguay | 54.0 | 51.3 | +5.3% | 14.4 | 54.2 | 56.8 |
| Greece | 53.3 | 51.0 | +4.5% | 12.9 | 51.7 | 62.3 |
| Slovenia | 53.2 | 50.6 | +5.1% | 18.2 | 52.7 | 87.0 |
| Guyana | 53.0 | 46.9 | +13.0% | 24.4 | 68.4 | 47.9 |
| Czech Republic | 52.0 | 48.2 | +7.9% | 19.1 | 50.7 | 89.2 |
| Spain | 51.4 | 48.6 | +5.8% | 22.3 | 51.9 | 96.8 |
| Latvia | 51.3 | 49.0 | +4.7% | 10.7 | 48.4 | 74.1 |
| Croatia | 51.3 | 48.6 | +5.6% | 16.1 | 49.7 | 82.0 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 50.8 | 46.5 | +9.2% | 29.7 | 51.1 | 28.2 |
| Senegal | 50.4 | 45.0 | +12.0% | 18.2 | 49.6 | 22.3 |
| Lithuania | 50.2 | 48.3 | +3.9% | 13.7 | 47.1 | 87.5 |
| Qatar | 50.2 | 46.9 | +7.0% | 36.9 | 41.8 | 168.1 |
| Belize | 49.9 | 42.3 | +18.0% | 13.2 | 60.0 | 65.4 |
| Hungary | 49.8 | 42.3 | +17.7% | 14.2 | 49.7 | 77.3 |
| Lebanon | 49.8 | 40.5 | +23.0% | 17.3 | 43.8 | 35.6 |
| Taiwan | 49.1 | 49.4 | -0.6% | 13.0 | 67.1 | 99.5 |
| Brunei | 49.0 | 46.1 | +6.3% | 14.9 | 69.0 | 128.0 |
| Portugal | 48.7 | 45.8 | +6.3% | 23.5 | 47.5 | 65.3 |
| Maldives | 48.6 | 46.0 | +5.7% | 24.2 | 54.6 | 38.9 |
| Slovakia | 48.5 | 46.7 | +3.9% | 15.6 | 50.0 | 73.4 |
| Papua New Guinea | 47.9 | 65.6 | -27.0% | 27.7 | 57.8 | 20.2 |
| Japan | 47.6 | 48.9 | -2.7% | 13.6 | 58.2 | 107.3 |
| Bahrain | 46.8 | 46.1 | +1.5% | 21.2 | 45.6 | 117.3 |
| Panama | 46.5 | 43.3 | +7.4% | 21.7 | 53.8 | 42.1 |
| Poland | 46.2 | 43.7 | +5.7% | 16.4 | 41.0 | 94.7 |
| Cape Verde | 45.6 | — | — | 7.6 | 56.5 | 22.3 |
| Oman | 45.5 | 39.3 | +15.8% | 12.0 | 46.8 | 151.3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 45.4 | 41.5 | +9.4% | 12.4 | 42.7 | 115.7 |
| Guatemala | 45.4 | 37.9 | +19.8% | 18.7 | 53.7 | 32.8 |
| Argentina | 44.9 | 38.3 | +17.2% | 12.8 | 43.8 | 44.8 |
| Albania | 44.7 | 43.7 | +2.3% | 11.9 | 46.6 | 46.9 |
| Ivory Coast | 44.6 | 42.7 | +4.4% | 22.9 | 42.8 | 11.7 |
| Mexico | 44.4 | 37.6 | +18.1% | 17.1 | 49.6 | 46.8 |
| Suriname | 43.4 | — | — | 11.4 | 52.7 | 18.4 |
| Kuwait | 43.1 | 40.4 | +6.7% | 21.6 | 37.2 | 175.8 |
| Montenegro | 42.8 | 40.0 | +7.0% | 15.7 | 40.7 | 63.4 |
| Serbia | 42.5 | 40.9 | +3.9% | 11.8 | 39.8 | 63.1 |
| Cuba | 42.1 | 40.1 | +5.0% | 11.2 | 42.6 | 2.4 |
| Bulgaria | 42.0 | 39.3 | +6.9% | 10.6 | 44.0 | 78.6 |
| El Salvador | 41.6 | 37.6 | +10.6% | 16.7 | 45.5 | 26.8 |
| Armenia | 40.9 | 40.5 | +1.0% | 15.0 | 38.4 | 47.4 |
| Ethiopia | 40.4 | 41.6 | -2.9% | 16.8 | 40.7 | 12.5 |
| Turkey | 40.2 | 38.2 | +5.2% | 12.3 | 40.0 | 71.8 |
| Jordan | 39.9 | 36.7 | +8.7% | 6.6 | 37.2 | 55.3 |
| Zambia | 39.7 | 33.5 | +18.5% | 13.7 | 44.5 | 23.5 |
| Romania | 39.5 | 38.3 | +3.1% | 11.0 | 38.6 | 72.7 |
| Dominican Republic | 39.4 | 34.7 | +13.5% | 13.5 | 40.3 | 40.4 |
| Russia | 39.3 | 36.1 | +8.9% | 12.5 | 39.4 | 60.9 |
| Cameroon | 39.2 | 39.6 | -1.0% | 14.7 | 38.0 | 10.8 |
| Venezuela | 38.9 | 35.6 | +9.3% | 6.3 | 46.4 | 16.7 |
| South Africa | 38.9 | 32.0 | +21.6% | 12.8 | 35.0 | 105.5 |
| Chile | 38.7 | 35.8 | +8.1% | 10.6 | 42.4 | 50.4 |
| Mauritius | 38.6 | 37.0 | +4.3% | 10.9 | 42.0 | 54.1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 38.3 | 35.7 | +7.3% | 7.4 | 39.3 | 64.3 |
| Ghana | 38.1 | 31.1 | +22.5% | 11.6 | 42.1 | 18.1 |
| Namibia | 38.0 | 31.3 | +21.4% | 14.3 | 39.8 | 69.0 |
| Myanmar | 37.8 | — | — | 10.0 | 39.6 | 19.5 |
| Mozambique | 37.7 | 35.7 | +5.6% | 12.1 | 35.4 | 24.3 |
| Honduras | 36.8 | 34.1 | +7.9% | 11.7 | 39.7 | 38.9 |
| Thailand | 36.8 | 35.3 | +4.2% | 12.8 | 43.5 | 41.0 |
| Nicaragua | 36.2 | 32.5 | +11.4% | 7.3 | 43.4 | 24.6 |
| Fiji | 35.8 | 33.3 | +7.5% | 19.5 | 45.9 | 56.4 |
| Moldova | 35.7 | 33.5 | +6.6% | 13.0 | 33.1 | 55.6 |
| Colombia | 35.6 | 28.0 | +27.1% | 11.5 | 37.6 | 40.0 |
| Angola | 35.6 | — | — | 17.4 | 34.2 | 259.3 |
| Zimbabwe | 35.2 | 33.4 | +5.4% | 8.4 | 34.5 | 27.8 |
| Cambodia | 35.1 | 33.0 | +6.4% | 9.8 | 43.1 | 22.6 |
| Georgia | 34.9 | 31.2 | +11.9% | 11.5 | 35.1 | 43.2 |
| North Macedonia | 34.6 | 33.6 | +3.0% | 6.9 | 34.6 | 64.6 |
| Mongolia | 34.5 | 30.1 | +14.6% | 17.1 | 39.3 | 40.7 |
| Malaysia | 34.0 | 31.1 | +9.3% | 8.5 | 43.3 | 76.3 |
| Brazil | 33.1 | 28.6 | +15.7% | 8.6 | 33.0 | 44.3 |
| Kazakhstan | 32.7 | 26.6 | +22.9% | 10.8 | 34.1 | 52.1 |
| Peru | 32.5 | 30.0 | +8.3% | 9.8 | 36.5 | 48.4 |
| Belarus | 32.3 | 25.3 | +27.7% | 9.7 | 33.5 | 63.7 |
| Paraguay | 32.0 | 22.8 | +40.4% | 10.8 | 32.5 | 49.1 |
| Botswana | 31.7 | 41.7 | -24.0% | 6.0 | 30.7 | 80.0 |
| Sri Lanka | 31.3 | 32.5 | -3.7% | 7.0 | 43.7 | 19.7 |
| Kosovo (Disputed Territory) | 31.2 | 27.5 | +13.5% | 7.5 | 35.1 | 56.4 |
| Morocco | 31.2 | 30.0 | +4.0% | 7.6 | 33.6 | 43.7 |
| Azerbaijan | 31.1 | 29.3 | +6.1% | 9.7 | 30.3 | 39.8 |
| Ecuador | 31.0 | 29.3 | +5.8% | 7.8 | 33.8 | 47.4 |
| China | 30.7 | 29.4 | +4.4% | 9.5 | 36.3 | 94.2 |
| Philippines | 29.1 | 29.5 | -1.4% | 7.2 | 35.3 | 32.1 |
| Tunisia | 29.0 | 27.5 | +5.5% | 5.0 | 35.3 | 33.6 |
| Ukraine | 29.0 | 26.1 | +11.1% | 7.7 | 30.2 | 48.1 |
| Kenya | 28.9 | 28.5 | +1.4% | 7.5 | 30.5 | 33.4 |
| Bolivia | 28.7 | 25.5 | +12.5% | 8.5 | 30.1 | 43.1 |
| Uzbekistan | 28.6 | 24.9 | +14.9% | 10.7 | 32.1 | 48.6 |
| Iraq | 28.6 | 27.1 | +5.5% | 6.8 | 28.7 | 57.6 |
| Tajikistan | 28.0 | 26.2 | +6.9% | 10.1 | 36.0 | 42.4 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 27.6 | 25.6 | +7.8% | 12.2 | 28.5 | 41.6 |
| Uganda | 27.2 | 25.4 | +7.1% | 9.7 | 28.9 | 18.6 |
| Algeria | 26.9 | 26.8 | +0.4% | 3.2 | 36.8 | 35.3 |
| Vietnam | 26.9 | 25.9 | +3.9% | 9.6 | 32.6 | 40.5 |
| Syria | 26.8 | 23.8 | +12.6% | 5.9 | 28.1 | 6.4 |
| Rwanda | 26.5 | 29.7 | -10.8% | 14.3 | 25.1 | 24.8 |
| Tanzania | 25.8 | 24.1 | +7.1% | 7.7 | 25.5 | 26.1 |
| Indonesia | 24.7 | 24.6 | +0.4% | 7.8 | 32.6 | 28.5 |
| Madagascar | 24.2 | 22.2 | +9.0% | 7.3 | 25.3 | 14.9 |
| Bangladesh | 22.7 | 21.2 | +7.1% | 2.4 | 27.4 | 32.8 |
| Iran | 22.1 | 22.7 | -2.6% | 6.8 | 21.4 | 30.7 |
| Nepal | 21.9 | 22.7 | -3.5% | 2.8 | 22.7 | 29.9 |
| Afghanistan | 21.6 | 19.1 | +13.1% | 2.5 | 20.2 | 38.5 |
| Egypt | 21.5 | 19.6 | +9.7% | 3.8 | 22.5 | 23.9 |
| Pakistan | 20.3 | 17.7 | +14.7% | 3.1 | 18.8 | 27.9 |
| Nigeria | 20.2 | 25.7 | -21.4% | 12.2 | 22.7 | 8.8 |
| Libya | 19.4 | 17.2 | +12.8% | 4.8 | 22.9 | 37.8 |
| India | 18.1 | 19.0 | -4.7% | 3.8 | 21.4 | 69.6 |
More economy coverage is on our Business & Finance page, including the Fed’s latest debate over a December rate hike.
Sources
- Numbeo: Cost of Living Index by Country 2026 Mid-Year
- Numbeo: Cost of Living Index by Country 2025 Mid-Year
- Numbeo: Understanding our Cost of Living Indexes
- World Bank: Inflation, consumer prices (annual %), data updated Nov. 11, 2026
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