At **** U.S. dollars, Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs in the world, according to the January 2025 Big Mac index. Concurrently, the cost of a Big Mac was **** dollars in the U.S., and **** U.S. dollars in the Euro area. What is the Big Mac index? The Big Mac index, published by The Economist, is a novel way of measuring whether the market exchange rates for different countries’ currencies are overvalued or undervalued. It does this by measuring each currency against a common standard – the Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald’s restaurants all over the world. Twice a year the Economist converts the average national price of a Big Mac into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at that point in time. As a Big Mac is a completely standardized product across the world, the argument goes that it should have the same relative cost in every country. Differences in the cost of a Big Mac expressed as U.S. dollars therefore reflect differences in the purchasing power of each currency. Is the Big Mac index a good measure of purchasing power parity? Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the idea that items should cost the same in different countries, based on the exchange rate at that time. This relationship does not hold in practice. Factors like tax rates, wage regulations, whether components need to be imported, and the level of market competition all contribute to price variations between countries. The Big Mac index does measure this basic point – that one U.S. dollar can buy more in some countries than others. There are more accurate ways to measure differences in PPP though, which convert a larger range of products into their dollar price. Adjusting for PPP can have a massive effect on how we understand a country’s economy. The country with the largest GDP adjusted for PPP is China, but when looking at the unadjusted GDP of different countries, the U.S. has the largest economy.

Our source data are from several places. Big Mac prices are from McDonald’s directly and from reporting around the world; exchange rates are from Thomson Reuters; GDP and population data used to calculate the euro area averages are from Eurostat and GDP per person data are from the IMF World Economic Outlook reports.

The Big Mac Index is published by The Economist as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currencies and provides a test of the extent to which market exchange rates result in goods costing the same in different countries. It "seeks to make exchange-rate theory a bit more digestible."

The Big Mac PPP exchange rate between two countries is obtained by dividing the price of a Big Mac in one country (in its currency) by the price of a Big Mac in another country (in its currency). This value is then compared with the actual exchange rate; if it is lower, then the first currency is under-valued (according to PPP theory) compared with the second, and conversely, if it is higher, then the first currency is over-valued.

Compare countries by seeing how long person has to work for to buy a big mac: https://www.economist.com/news/2020/07/15/the-big-mac-index

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index

Context

The Big Mac Index is published by The Economist as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currencies and provides a test of the extent to which market exchange rates result in goods costing the same in different countries. It "seeks to make exchange-rate theory a bit more digestible".

Content

Name: Country name iso_a3: Country code according to the ISO A3 currency_code: Currency local_price: Big mac price in the local currency dollar_ex: Dollar exchange of the local currency GDP_dollar: Gross Domestic Product in dollar currency date: data recorded date

Inspiration

Burgernomics.

Thanks to the Economist.

As of January 2025, Argentina had the highest Big Mac Index and Guatemala, the lowest, among the Latin American countries measured. The so-called Big Mac Index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. In Guatemala, it was estimated that a Big Mac would cost an average of 4.01 U.S. dollars, while the average price for a Big Mac burger in Brazil amounted to approximately 4.03 U.S. dollars. How is the Big Mac Index calculated?The Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars. The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality.McDonald's in Latin AmericaMcDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay. Brazil is the largest Latin American market for McDonald's when it comes to the size of the franchise network, as over 1,000 McDonald's restaurants are in operation in the Brazilian territory.

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. The average price for a Big Mac burger in Mexico was estimated at 4.6 U.S. dollars in January 2025. Due to the high increases during the last few years, the Big Mac burger price became one of the highest in Latin America. Big Mac Index The Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay. Power Purchasing Parity This conversion endeavor seeks to level the purchasing power disparities among nations by neutralizing price discrepancies. Notably, in Mexico, the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) has demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory, yielding positive repercussions on the minimum wage for the labor force. This, in turn, has triggered a favorable effect on the affordability of the essential food basket. Furthermore, this upswing has propelled five major Mexican cities into the upper positions of PPP rankings within Latin America. Consequently, Mexico now stands as the 15th largest global economy, a status achieved despite a slight, yet steady, decline in its share of the global GDP, which is adjusted according to PPP metrics.

Context

Data and methodology for the Big Mac index https://www.economist.com/news/2018/07/11/the-big-mac-index.

Updated yearly, with data from 1986 to 2019.

Content

• big-mac-raw-index.csv contains values for the “raw” index
• big-mac-adjusted-index.csv contains values for the “adjusted” index
• big-mac-full-index.csv contains both

Acknowledgements

Banner Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

This software is published by The Economist under the MIT licence. The data generated by The Economist are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The licences include only the data and the software authored by The Economist, and do not cover any Economist content or third-party data or content made available using the software. More information about licensing, syndication and the copyright of Economist content can be found here.

From https://github.com/TheEconomist/big-mac-data

This dataset provides values for BIG MAC INDEX reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In 2024, Brazil was the sixth Latin American country where buying a Big Mac was the most expensive. The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. The average price for a Big Mac burger in Brazil was estimated at **** U.S. dollars in January 2024, an increase in price in comparison to the previous year. In the past decade, the Big Mac index in Brazil went below the * dollar threshold in January 2016. Big Mac IndexThe Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

This dataset provides values for BIG MAC INDEX reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. The average price for a Big Mac burger in Uruguay was estimated at **** U.S. dollars in January 2025. In comparison to the value registered a year earlier, this represents a considerable increase. In Latin America, Uruguay had the highest price for a Big Mac in 2024. Big Mac IndexThe Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Dataset

This dataset was created by Yuk Cheong Tang

Released under MIT

Contents

This data is used to reflect Consumer Price Index (CPI) of each country.

Codebook variable |definition source date |Date of observation
iso_a3 |Three-character ISO 3166-1 country code
currency_code |Three-character ISO 4217 currency code
name |Country name
local_price |Price of a Big Mac in the local currency McDonalds; The Economist dollar_ex |Local currency units per dollar Reuters dollar_price |Price of a Big Mac in dollars
USD_raw |Raw index, relative to the US dollar
EUR_raw |Raw index, relative to the Euro
GBP_raw |Raw index, relative to the British pound
JPY_raw |Raw index, relative to the Japanese yen
CNY_raw |Raw index, relative to the Chinese yuan
GDP_dollar |GDP per person, in dollars IMF adj_price |GDP-adjusted price of a Big Mac, in dollars
USD_adjusted |Adjusted index, relative to the US dollar
EUR_adjusted |Adjusted index, relative to the Euro
GBP_adjusted |Adjusted index, relative to the British pound
JPY_adjusted |Adjusted index, relative to the Japanese yen
CNY_adjusted |Adjusted index, relative to the Chinese yuan

Here 3 DataSet for a complete overview of the economy of the country you are interested in.

Big Mac Index, Inflation forecast and Average Salary

https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F9770082%2F647d322e2641c1d6775c0ff85e5c25c4%2FFrame%205464.jpg?generation=1672569268052034&alt=media" alt="">

Big Mac Index

The Big Mac index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP). By diverting the average national Big Mac prices to U.S. dollars, the same goods can be informally compared. So when the price of a burger is considered, the economic value of all these factors is accounted for. Thus, comparing the prices of similar burgers in two countries reflects a region’s cost of living and affordability. This is the theory behind Burgernomics.

https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F9770082%2F53d7d4b1424ab7a612441c1e34c7981a%2Fimage%20189.jpg?generation=1672580570370966&alt=media" alt="">

Inflation forecast

Inflation forecast is measured in terms of the consumer price index (CPI) or harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) for euro area countries, the euro area aggregate and the United Kingdom. Inflation measures the general evolution of prices. It is defined as the change in the prices of a basket of goods and services that are typically purchased by households. Projections are based on an assessment of the economic climate in individual countries and the world economy, using a combination of model-based analyses and expert judgement. The indicator is expressed in annual growth rates.

https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F9770082%2Fae643f12918f0d2483aee5d18e218f69%2Fimage%20190.jpg?generation=1672582503068978&alt=media" alt="">

Average Salary (income)

The average salary is calculated based on reported salaries of respondents. The average salary definition is to add the salaries in the sample together, then divide by the number of respondents. The result is the average salary for everyone surveyed.

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. The average price for a Big Mac burger in Colombia was estimated at **** U.S. dollars in January 2025. Colombia price for a Big Mac is among the four highest in Latin America. Big Mac IndexThe Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay. Inflation in Colombia Over the past two decades, Colombia has generally seen a decline in the inflation rate, with a small upward trend as of 2023, reaching ***** percent. However, there are forecasts indicating a steady decline in the inflation rate for the next five years. In the year 2024, the annual inflation rate has been lower compared to previous years, particularly in the sector of information and communication, which recorded a negative inflation rate of *** percent, This has placed Colombia at the fifth position among Latin American countries with the highest annual inflation rate in comparison to previous years as of 2023.

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. In Costa Rica, the average price for a Big Mac burger was estimated at *** U.S. dollars in January 2025. Costa Rica price for a Big Mac is among the highest in Latin America, only behind Uruguay and Argentina. Big Mac IndexThe Big Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Inflation in Costa Rica Costa Rica ranks in the middle table of Latin American countries with the highest inflation rates, nonetheless, in the Central American region it’s only behind Honduras. During 2022, the inflation rate of Costa Rica was ****, after many years of low rates, the global inflation crisis accelerated the price increases in the country. Some sectors were impacted more heavily than others, in June 2023, the industry with the highest Consumer Price Index (CPI) was food and non-alcoholic beverages, in contrast, the communications sector presented the lowest.

The average price for a Big Mac burger in Peru was estimated at **** U.S. dollars in January 2025. The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. Buying a Big Mac in Peru is cheaper than, for instance, in neighboring Chile. Big Mac IndexThe Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Inflation in Peru After two years of hyperinflation in 1989 and 1990, the inflation rate of Peru slowed down until 2022, following the trend of the global inflation crisis. Nonetheless, the Andean country still ranks in the middle of the table of Latin American countries with the highest inflation rate during that same year and remains with significantly lower price increases than the region’s average. Some sectors are more impacted than others, the category with the highest price increases as of September 2023, were food and non-alcoholic beverages, in contrast, the housing and housing services sector presented a slight deflation during the same period.

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. In 2025, the average price for a Big Mac burger in Chile was estimated at 4.55 U.S. dollars. Big Mac IndexThe Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition, and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Inflation in Chile During 2022, the inflation rate of Chile was 11.25 percent, in general, price increases in the South American country remained low from 2009 to 2021. Nonetheless, with the global inflation crisis in the following years the rate increased significantly. Still, Chile remains with an inflation lower than the Latin America average. Moreover, price increases have been impacting sectors differently, in June 2023, the industry with the highest inter-annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) was alcoholic beverages and tobacco, in contrast, the communications sector recorded a slight deflation.

Am teuersten bleibt der Big Mac in der Schweiz - auch im Januar 2025 muss man nach dem sogenannten Big-Mac-Index durchschnittlich rund 7,99 US-Dollar für einen Big Mac in der Schweiz bezahlen und damit mehr als in jedem anderen Land der Welt. Der Preis für einen Big Mac in der Schweiz ist gegenüber dem Preis von Juli 2024 um rund 0,08 US-Dollar gesunken. Wo gibt es den billigsten Big Mac der Welt? In Taiwan ist der Big Mac im Januar 2025 weltweit am günstigsten: Für einen Big Mac müssen Taiwaner:innen im Januar 2025 nur rund 2,38 US-Dollar bezahlen, im Juli 2024 sind es noch rund 0,1 US-Dollar weniger gewesen. In Europa ist der Big Mac in der Ukraine mit rund 2,86 US-Dollar am günstigsten. In der Eurozone muss man im Januar 2025 durchschnittlich 5,95 US-Dollar für einen Big Mac bezahlen und somit rund 11 US-Cent weniger als vor 6 Monaten. Vor dem russischen Überfall auf die Ukraine wurde der weltweit günstigste Big Mac in Russland verkauft. Rund 1,74 US-Dollar mussten Russen im Januar 2022 für einen Big Mac bezahlen, und jetzt? Was kostet ein Big Mac in Russland? Nichts, denn in Russland gibt es seit Mai 2022 keinen Big Mac mehr. McDonald's hat sich im Mai 2022 wegen des völkerrechtswidrigen russischen Überfalls auf die Ukraine komplett aus Russland zurückgezogen und alle Filialen verkauft. Mit Alexander Gowor hat sich aber schnell ein patriotischer kremltreuer Oligarch gefunden, um in dieser Angelegenheit nationaler Tragweite die Filialen sämtlich zu übernehmen und - sozialistisch pragmatisch - unter dem innovativen neuen Namen Wkusno i totschka (lecker und Punkt) wiederzueröffnen. Nur den Big Mac kann man wegen der Markenrechte leider nicht anbieten und somit wird Russland wohl auf absehbare Zeit nicht mehr im Big-Mac-Index vertreten sein. Breaking News - Verkaufsstart der Big-Mac-Kopie in Russland Nach gut 10 Monaten Entwicklungsarbeit hat das Science Lab von Wkusno i totschka bewiesen, was der Forschungsstandort Russland zu leisten vermag und Anfang März den "Big Hit" in seinen "lecker und Punkt-Filialen" eingeführt. Es soll sich um eine "verbesserte" Version des Big Mac handeln, allerdings lassen erste Reaktionen von Kunden darauf schließen, dass dies nicht ganz gelungen ist. Aber zumindest der Preis ist mit 186 Rubel, also derzeit (Februar 2025), mit rund 2,10 US-Dollar lecker und Punkt. Bis zum Rückzug der Konzernmutter McDonald's belegte Russland übrigens mit rund 800 Filialen im Ranking der Länder mit den meisten McDonald's Restaurants den zehnten Platz. Was ist der Big-Mac-Index und wie funktioniert er? Der Big-Mac-Index ist ein leicht verständlicher Indikator, der für den Kaufkraftvergleich von Ländern entwickelt wurde. Dieser Indikator wurde 1986 von der britischen Wochenzeitung „The Economist“ erfunden und wird halbjährlich im Januar und Juli jeden Jahres aktualisiert. Die Idee des Economist war, dass es überall auf der Welt McDonald's gibt und der Big Mac in jeder Filiale des Schnellrestaurants weltweit in standardisierter Größe, Zusammensetzung und Qualität verkauft wird. Der Erfolg des Indikators beruht auf seiner Einfachheit und darauf, dass der Big Mac wie auch McDonald's einen sehr hohen Bekanntheitsgrad haben – jeder hat schon von McDonald's und Big Mac gehört. Es handelt sich also um ein standardisiertes Produkt, das weltweit bekannt ist und konsumiert wird. Für den Preisvergleich wird der Preis für einen Big Mac in der jeweiligen Landeswährung zum aktuellen US-Dollar-Kurs umgerechnet. Je höher der umgerechnete Preis ist, desto höher wird auch die Kaufkraft im jeweiligen Land eingeschätzt. Je niedriger der umgerechnete Big Mac Preis ist, desto geringer wird die jeweilige Kaufkraft im Land eingeschätzt. Preisniveau in der Europäischen Union Zwischen den 27 Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union (EU) gibt es deutliche Unterschiede im Preisniveau, was aus der Angabe des Big-Mac-Index für die Eurozone nicht direkt ersichtlich ist. Der Preisniveauindex für Verbrauchsgüter und Dienstleistungen in der Europäischen Union bietet hingegen einen detaillierten Vergleich. Während die Verbraucherpreise in Dänemark rund 38 Prozent über dem EU-Durchschnitt liegen, muss man in Bulgarien derzeit nur rund halb so viel für Verbrauchsgüter und Dienstleistungen aufwenden.

El índice Big Mac es un indicador basado en el precio de una hamburguesa Big Mac en todo el mundo y refleja el poder adquisitivo de una economía. En 2023, el precio promedio más alto de una Big Mac en América Latina fue de 7,04 dólares estadounidenses, registrado en Uruguay. En la tercera posición se encuentra el país vecino, Argentina, donde el valor de la hamburguesa fue de 5,19 dólares. ¿Cómo se calcula el Índice Big Mac?El índice Big Mac es publicado por The Economist desde 1986 y es un indicador simplificado del poder adquisitivo de un país, ya que se calcula comparando los precios de una hamburguesa Big Mac en una gran cantidad de naciones. Para hacer la comparación, se utiliza la hamburguesa Big Mac, que es uno de los principales productos de McDonald's, porque está disponible en casi todos los países y se fabrica en tamaño, composición y calidad estándares.McDonald's en LatinoaméricaMcDonald’s es una cadena de restaurantes de comida rápida que opera a nivel mundial. En América Latina, McDonald's realiza la mayor parte de sus operaciones bajo la empresa Arcos Dorados Holdings, cuya sede está en Montevideo, Uruguay. El mayor mercado latinoamericano de esta marca es Brasil, donde McDonald's cuenta con una red de alrededor de 1.000 restaurantes.

El índice Big Mac es un indicador basado en el precio de una hamburguesa Big Mac en todo el mundo y refleja el poder adquisitivo de una economía. En enero de 2024, el precio medio de una Big Mac en México alcanzó su valor más alto del período con el precio de 5,19 dólares estadounidenses. Índice Big MacEl índice Big Mac es publicado por The Economist desde 1986 y es un indicador simplificado del poder adquisitivo de un país, ya que se calcula comparando los precios de una hamburguesa Big Mac en una gran cantidad de naciones. Para hacer la comparación, se utiliza la hamburguesa Big Mac, que es uno de los principales productos de McDonald's, porque está disponible en casi todos los países y se fabrica en tamaño, composición y calidad estándares.McDonald’s es una cadena de restaurantes de comida rápida que opera a nivel mundial. En América Latina, McDonald's realiza la mayor parte de sus operaciones bajo la empresa Arcos Dorados Holdings, cuya sede está en Montevideo, Uruguay.