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.

Out of all 50 states, New York had the highest per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, at 90,730 U.S. dollars, followed closely by Massachusetts. Mississippi had the lowest per-capita real GDP, at 39,102 U.S. dollars. While not a state, the District of Columbia had a per capita GDP of more than 214,000 U.S. dollars. What is real GDP? A country’s real GDP is a measure that shows the value of the goods and services produced by an economy and is adjusted for inflation. The real GDP of a country helps economists to see the health of a country’s economy and its standard of living. Downturns in GDP growth can indicate financial difficulties, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the U.S. GDP decreased by 2.5 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on U.S. GDP, shrinking the economy 2.8 percent. The U.S. economy rebounded in 2021, however, growing by nearly six percent. Why real GDP per capita matters Real GDP per capita takes the GDP of a country, state, or metropolitan area and divides it by the number of people in that area. Some argue that per-capita GDP is more important than the GDP of a country, as it is a good indicator of whether or not the country’s population is getting wealthier, thus increasing the standard of living in that area. The best measure of standard of living when comparing across countries is thought to be GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) which uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of a countries currency.

This map is adapted from the outstanding work of Dr. Joseph Kerski at ESRI. A map of political, social, and economic indicators for 2010. Created at the Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab at Grinnell College by Megan Schlabaugh, April Chen, and Adam Lauretig.Data from Freedom House, the Center for Systemic Peace, and the World Bank.Shapefile:Weidmann, Nils B., Doreen Kuse, and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. 2010. The Geography of the International System: The CShapes Dataset. International Interactions 36 (1).Field Descriptions:

Variable Name Variable Description Years Available Further Description Source

TotPop Total Population 2011 Population of the country/region World Bank

GDPpcap GDP per capita (current USD) 2011 A measure of the total output of a country that takes the gross domestic product (GDP) and divides it by the number of people in the country. The per capita GDP is especially useful when comparing one country to another because it shows the relative performance of the countries. World Bank

GDPpcapPPP GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) 2011

World Bank

HDI Human Development Index (HDI) 2011 A tool developed by the United Nations to measure and rank countries' levels of social and economic development based on four criteria: Life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita. The HDI makes it possible to track changes in development levels over time and to compare development levels in different countries. World Bank

LifeExpct Life expectancy at birth 2011 The probable number of years a person will live after a given age, as determined by mortality in a specific geographic area. World Bank

MyrSchool Mean years of schooling 2011 Years that a 25-year-old person or older has spent in schools World Bank

ExpctSch Expected years of schooling 2011 Number of years of schooling that a child of school entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates persist throughout the child’s life. World Bank

GNIpcap Gross National Income (GNI) per capita 2011 Gross national income (GNI) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. GNI per capita is gross national income divided by mid-year population. World Bank

GNIpcapHDI GNI per capita rank minus HDI rank 2011

World Bank

NaIncHDI Nonincome HDI
2011

World Bank

15+LitRate Adult (15+) literacy rate (%). Total 2010

UNESCO

EmplyAgr Employment in Agriculture 2009

World Bank

GDPenergy GDP per unit of energy use 2010 The PPP GDP per kilogram of oil equivalent of energy use. World Bank

GDPgrowth GDP growth (annual %) 2011

World Bank

GDP GDP (current USD) 2011

World Bank

ExptGDP Exports of Goods and Service (% GDP) 2011 The value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world World Bank

ImprtGDP Imports of Goods and Service (% GDP) 2011 The value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. World Bank

AgrGDP Agriculture, Value added (% GDP) 2011 Agriculture corresponds to ISIC divisions 1-5 and includes forestry, hunting, and fishing, as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. World Bank

FDI Foreign Direct Investment, net (current USD) 2011 Foreign direct investment are the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. World Bank

GNIpcap GNI per capita PP 2011 GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GNI is gross national income (GNI) converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GNI as a U.S. dollar has in the United States. GNI is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. World Bank

Inflatn Inflation, Consumer Prices (annual %) 2011 Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. World Bank

InfltnGDP Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) 2011 Inflation as measured by the annual growth rate of the GDP implicit deflator shows the rate of price change in the economy as a whole. The GDP implicit deflator is the ratio of GDP in current local currency to GDP in constant local currency. World Bank

PctWomParl % women in national parliament 2010

United Nations

IntnetUser Internet Users, per 100 peple 2011 Internet users are people with access to the worldwide network. World Bank

HIVPrevlnc Estimated HIV Prevalence% - (Ages 15-49) 2009 Prevalence of HIV refers to the percentage of people ages 15-49 who are infected with HIV. UNAIDS estimates. UNAIDS

AgrLand Agricultural land (% of land area) 2009 Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. World Bank

AidRecPP Aid received per person (current US$) 2010 Net official development assistance (ODA) per capita consists of disbursements of loans made on concessional terms (net of repayments of principal) and grants by official agencies of the members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), by multilateral institutions, and by non-DAC countries to promote economic development and welfare in countries and territories in the DAC list of ODA recipients; and is calculated by dividing net ODA received by the midyear population estimate. It includes loans with a grant element of at least 25 percent (calculated at a rate of discount of 10 percent). World Bank

AlcohAdul Alcohol consumption per adult (15+) in litres 2008 Liters of pure alcohol, computed as the sum of alcohol production and imports, less alcohol exports, divided by the adult population (aged 15 years and older). World Health Organization

ArmyPct Military expenditure (% of central government expenditure) 2008 Military expenditures data from SIPRI are derived from the NATO definition, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country). World Development Indicators (World Bank)

TFR Total Fertility Rate 2011 The average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age. This indicator shows the potential for population change in a country. World Bank

CO2perUSD CO2 kg per USD 2008 Carbon dioxide emissions are those stemming from the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement. They include carbon dioxide produced during consumption of solid, liquid, and gas fuels and gas flaring. World Bank

ExpdtrPrim Expenditure per student, primary (% of GDP per capita) 2008 Public expenditure per pupil as a % of GDP per capita. Primary is the total public expenditure per student in primary education as a percentage of GDP per capita. Public expenditure (current and capital) includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration as well as subsidies for private entities (students/households and other privates entities). World Bank

ExpdtrSecd Expenditure per student, secondary (% of GDP per capita) 2008 Public expenditure per pupil as a % of GDP per capita. Secondary is the total public expenditure per student in secondary education as a percentage of GDP per capita. World Bank

ExpdtrTert Expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) 2008 Public expenditure per pupil as a % of GDP per capita. Tertiary is the total public expenditure per student in tertiary education as a percentage of GDP per capita. World Bank

FDIoutf Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP) 2010 Foreign direct investment are the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. This series shows net outflows of investment from the