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.

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.

Economic indicators and price analysis for United States

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.

In January 2025, the price of a McDonald's Big Mac sandwich in Israel stood at **** U.S. dollars. By comparison, the price of a Big Mac in the Euro Area stood at **** U.S. dollars, and **** U.S. dollars in the United States. The Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power parity (PPP) of global currencies. Since 2010, the price of Big Macs in Israel, as expressed in U.S. dollars, has trended upwards.

The average price for a Big Mac burger in Peru was estimated at 4.53 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.

In 2023, the United States accounted for 15.56 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) after adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP). This share was expected to decrease to 14.72 percent by 2029, which is roughly a seventh of the global total. What is PPP? The easiest way to understand purchasing power parity is the Big Mac Index, a measure developed by The Economist. The index tracks the price of the McDonald’s Big Mac burger, sold at each of its thousands of restaurants worldwide. Countries where the Big Mac is most expensive have higher purchasing power, meaning one can buy more for each unit of that currency. To calculate PPP, economists use a group of goods to calculate the ratio of the price of this group in each country. This ratio is then used to convert all countries into a standardized price level, on parity with each other. Why use PPP? A U.S. dollar in the United States does not have the same purchasing power as a dollar in China, even after considering the exchange rate. For this reason, adjusting for PPP gives an idea of what the rest of the world could buy in the United States, if prices were the same as in their home country. However, some economists argue that using PPP for comparisons between countries is inaccurate because it changes the price level differently for each country. Still, because it accounts not only for country-specific effects but also inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, PPP is a very popular metric.

This statistic shows the average working time required to buy one Big Mac in selected cities around the world in 2018. In Nairobi, the average worker had to work for about ***** minutes to be able to purchase a Big Mac. The average wages garnered in select countries around the world based on purchasing power can be accessed here. Additional information on the Big Mac Index The Big Mac index is a tongue-in-cheek measure of purchasing power parity (PPP) created by The Economist. The index gained global attention among economists and other analysts of global economic conditions due to its relative degree of accuracy in predicting purchasing power parity among countries. In attempting to include wage differentials rankings that seek to measure how fast one can earn the money required to purchase a Big Mac incorporate average wages. In theory, the result should correlate to the ranking of average world wages adjusted for PPP. The Big Mac index is open to criticism as it is unable to take certain factors that may result in the price of a Big Mac fluctuating between countries. For example, the hospitality industry, including McDonalds, tends to employ large numbers of people on or close to the minimum wage. This is shown by the percentage of workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the minimum wage in the U.S., by industry. As a result differing levels of the minimum wage may lead McDonalds to charge a comparably higher amount for a Big Mac in that country.