⚠️ Unconfirmedeconomic2023
Living costs (proxy): PPP conversion factor, GDP (LCU per international $)
Country living-cost proxy using the World Bank PPP conversion factor (LCU per international $). Higher values often indicate higher local prices per $I.
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Key Insights
Global Average
973.3LCU per international $
Median: 12.5LCU per international $
Countries Covered
133
with available data
Highest
Islamic Republic of Iran
42,000.0LCU per international $
Lowest
Kuwait
0.3LCU per international $
Top 5 Countries
1Islamic Republic of Iran42,000.0LCU per international $
2Lebanon18,000.0LCU per international $
3Indonesia15,500.0LCU per international $
4Syrian Arab Republic12,500.0LCU per international $
5Vietnam9,000.0LCU per international $
By Region
Asia3,406.4LCU per international $(26 countries)
Other641.5LCU per international $(58 countries)
South America369.5LCU per international $(6 countries)
Africa114.1LCU per international $(9 countries)
Europe14.9LCU per international $(28 countries)
Key Findings
- •PPP-based living-cost proxies provide near-global coverage suitable for world maps, unlike some official consumption price-level indices with narrower membership coverage.
- •Countries with very high numeric PPP factors often have high-denomination currencies; interpret relative differences with caution and consider normalizing (e.g., log scale) for visualization.
- •For a more consumer-focused definition of 'living costs', consider OECD price level indices for HFCE (official, but fewer countries) or Numbeo cost-of-living indices (broader, but non-official).
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Low (0.2LCU per international $)High (15,500.0LCU per international $)
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 973.3LCU per international $)
Asia (26)
Other (58)
South America (6)
Africa (9)
Europe (28)
North America (4)
Oceania (2)
About This Statistic
A widely comparable, official proxy for “living costs” across countries is the World Bank’s PPP conversion factor for GDP (LCU per international $). It indicates how many units of a country’s local currency are needed to buy the same basket of goods and services that 1 international dollar would buy in the United States.
This is not a consumer “cost of living index” (and it is not limited to household consumption only), but it is a standard, globally available cross-country price-level tool produced from International Comparison Program (ICP) PPPs and maintained in the World Development Indicators (WDI). For map visualization, it has broad country coverage and a consistent definition over time.
Methodology
Uses the WDI indicator PA.NUS.PPP (PPP conversion factor, GDP). Values originate from the International Comparison Program (ICP) and represent the number of local currency units required to purchase the same volume of goods and services in a country as 1 international dollar would purchase in the United States. For mapping 'living costs' as a proxy, interpret higher LCU per international $ as indicating higher local-currency price levels relative to the international-dollar benchmark, noting that currency denomination effects apply (e.g., IDR vs JPY).
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 42,000.0LCU per international $ |
| 2 | Lebanon | 18,000.0LCU per international $ |
| 3 | Indonesia | 15,500.0LCU per international $ |
| 4 | Syrian Arab Republic | 12,500.0LCU per international $ |
| 5 | Vietnam | 9,000.0LCU per international $ |
| 6 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 4,800.0LCU per international $ |
| 7 | Mongolia | 2,800.0LCU per international $ |
| 8 | Central African Republic | 2,500.0LCU per international $ |
| 9 | Paraguay | 2,400.0LCU per international $ |
| 10 | Cambodia | 1,750.0LCU per international $ |
| 11 | Myanmar | 1,500.0LCU per international $ |
| 12 | Uganda | 1,450.0LCU per international $ |
| 13 | Colombia | 1,400.0LCU per international $ |
| 14 | Iraq | 1,300.0LCU per international $ |
| 15 | Yemen | 1,200.0LCU per international $ |
| 16 | Burundi | 1,000.0LCU per international $ |
| 17 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 950.0LCU per international $ |
| 18 | South Korea | 900.0LCU per international $ |
| 19 | United Republic of Tanzania | 900.0LCU per international $ |
| 20 | Sudan | 650.0LCU per international $ |
| 21 | Chile | 560.0LCU per international $ |
| 22 | Angola | 560.0LCU per international $ |
| 23 | Rwanda | 430.0LCU per international $ |
| 24 | Republic of the Congo | 420.0LCU per international $ |
| 25 | Nigeria | 300.0LCU per international $ |
| 26 | Gabon | 290.0LCU per international $ |
| 27 | Togo | 290.0LCU per international $ |
| 28 | Cameroon | 260.0LCU per international $ |
| 29 | Niger | 260.0LCU per international $ |
| 30 | Senegal | 260.0LCU per international $ |
| 31 | Mali | 250.0LCU per international $ |
| 32 | Cote d'Ivoire | 240.0LCU per international $ |
| 33 | Benin | 230.0LCU per international $ |
| 34 | Argentina | 230.0LCU per international $ |
| 35 | Kazakhstan | 220.0LCU per international $ |
| 36 | Equatorial Guinea | 215.0LCU per international $ |
| 37 | Armenia | 190.0LCU per international $ |
| 38 | Jamaica | 155.0LCU per international $ |
| 39 | Hungary | 150.0LCU per international $ |
| 40 | Iceland | 140.0LCU per international $ |
| 41 | Sri Lanka | 125.0LCU per international $ |
| 42 | Japan | 105.0LCU per international $ |
| 43 | Kyrgyzstan | 85.0LCU per international $ |
| 44 | Pakistan | 85.0LCU per international $ |
| 45 | Kenya | 60.0LCU per international $ |
| 46 | Serbia | 55.0LCU per international $ |
| 47 | Algeria | 55.0LCU per international $ |
| 48 | Nepal | 45.0LCU per international $ |
| 49 | Albania | 40.0LCU per international $ |
| 50 | Mozambique | 38.0LCU per international $ |
| 51 | Venezuela | 35.0LCU per international $ |
| 52 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 31.0LCU per international $ |
| 53 | Bangladesh | 31.0LCU per international $ |
| 54 | Russian Federation | 30.0LCU per international $ |
| 55 | Dominican Republic | 28.0LCU per international $ |
| 56 | Philippines | 27.0LCU per international $ |
| 57 | Honduras | 24.5LCU per international $ |
| 58 | India | 22.0LCU per international $ |
| 59 | Uruguay | 22.0LCU per international $ |
| 60 | Ethiopia | 18.0LCU per international $ |
| 61 | Egypt | 16.0LCU per international $ |
| 62 | Thailand | 15.5LCU per international $ |
| 63 | Bhutan | 15.5LCU per international $ |
| 64 | Czech Republic | 14.5LCU per international $ |
| 65 | Eswatini | 14.0LCU per international $ |
| 66 | Taiwan, Province of China | 13.5LCU per international $ |
| 67 | Türkiye | 12.5LCU per international $ |
| 68 | Zambia | 12.0LCU per international $ |
| 69 | Nicaragua | 11.8LCU per international $ |
| 70 | Cuba | 11.5LCU per international $ |
| 71 | Moldova, Republic of | 11.5LCU per international $ |
| 72 | Ukraine | 11.5LCU per international $ |
| 73 | Mexico | 10.9LCU per international $ |
| 74 | Tajikistan | 10.5LCU per international $ |
| 75 | Botswana | 10.5LCU per international $ |
| 76 | Sweden | 9.8LCU per international $ |
| 77 | Montenegro | 9.5LCU per international $ |
| 78 | Norway | 9.5LCU per international $ |
| 79 | South Africa | 8.4LCU per international $ |
| 80 | Namibia | 8.1LCU per international $ |
| 81 | Denmark | 7.1LCU per international $ |
| 82 | Ghana | 6.6LCU per international $ |
| 83 | Hong Kong | 5.8LCU per international $ |
| 84 | Turkmenistan | 5.5LCU per international $ |
| 85 | Libya | 5.2LCU per international $ |
| 86 | El Salvador | 4.6LCU per international $ |
| 87 | People's Republic of China | 4.2LCU per international $ |
| 88 | Guatemala | 3.9LCU per international $ |
| 89 | Israel | 3.8LCU per international $ |
| 90 | Qatar | 3.6LCU per international $ |
| 91 | Belarus | 3.2LCU per international $ |
| 92 | Morocco | 3.2LCU per international $ |
| 93 | Papua New Guinea | 3.2LCU per international $ |
| 94 | Solomon Islands | 3.2LCU per international $ |
| 95 | Brazil | 2.9LCU per international $ |
| 96 | Romania | 2.6LCU per international $ |
| 97 | Bolivia | 2.2LCU per international $ |
| 98 | Poland | 2.1LCU per international $ |
| 99 | Peru | 1.9LCU per international $ |
| 100 | Malaysia | 1.6LCU per international $ |
| 101 | Australia | 1.6LCU per international $ |
| 102 | New Zealand | 1.6LCU per international $ |
| 103 | United Arab Emirates | 1.4LCU per international $ |
| 104 | Canada | 1.2LCU per international $ |
| 105 | Bulgaria | 1.1LCU per international $ |
| 106 | Georgia | 1.1LCU per international $ |
| 107 | Saudi Arabia | 1.1LCU per international $ |
| 108 | Tunisia | 1.1LCU per international $ |
| 109 | United States of America | 1.0LCU per international $ |
| 110 | Finland | 1.0LCU per international $ |
| 111 | Switzerland | 1.0LCU per international $ |
| 112 | France | 0.9LCU per international $ |
| 113 | Italy | 0.9LCU per international $ |
| 114 | Luxembourg | 0.9LCU per international $ |
| 115 | Singapore | 0.9LCU per international $ |
| 116 | Netherlands | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 117 | Ireland | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 118 | Austria | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 119 | Germany | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 120 | Belgium | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 121 | Slovenia | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 122 | Spain | 0.8LCU per international $ |
| 123 | Greece | 0.7LCU per international $ |
| 124 | United Kingdom | 0.7LCU per international $ |
| 125 | Portugal | 0.7LCU per international $ |
| 126 | Slovakia | 0.6LCU per international $ |
| 127 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.6LCU per international $ |
| 128 | Croatia | 0.6LCU per international $ |
| 129 | Panama | 0.6LCU per international $ |
| 130 | Azerbaijan | 0.5LCU per international $ |
| 131 | Jordan | 0.3LCU per international $ |
| 132 | Oman | 0.3LCU per international $ |
| 133 | Kuwait | 0.3LCU per international $ |
Showing 133 of 133 countries
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from World Bank (World Development Indicators, ICP PPPs) (2023).
View Original Source