Big Mac as an ‘inflation’ measurement. Cheapest and most expensive countries are…?

Big Mac as an ‘inflation’ measurement. Cheapest and most expensive countries are…?

Big Mac as an informal benchmark to the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) for countries

The Big Mac PPP is an informal measure of exchange rate valuation created by the Economist in 1986. It uses the price of a McDonald’s Big Mac as a benchmark to compare the purchasing power between different currencies. Source: investopedia.com

There are limitations to using this as a benchmark but since then, this has been widely regarded as another popular measurement to determine the strength of the currency. So, let’s look at the latest measurement today and see what is the price of Big Macs all around the world and also where is Malaysia?

The countries with the cheapest Big Macs are…

Info Source comes from visualcapitalist.com

When we travel to Taiwan, I think it’s worth trying a Big Mac over there to see if there are any difference since they are the cheapest in the world when it comes to Big Mac. Our friendly neighbour Indonesia is the second cheapest followed by India.

Cheaper to eat Big Mac in Malaysia than all the following countries

Yes, it’s even cheaper than the Philippines. Hong Kong’s premise rental should be more expensive and perhaps the only reason it’s cheaper slightly is because their beef source is cheaper? Or maybe they sell more per restaurant and thus the cost per unit can be lowered further? Vietnam, Japan and China are all more expensive than Malaysia when it comes to Big Mac.

Countries with the MOST EXPENSIVE Big Macs in the world are…

Generally, this tells us that we should eat something else and not Big Mac when we travel to European countries. In fact, the price of a Big Mac in these European countries below are even higher than the Big Mac origin country which is the United States. Switzerland is a whopping 43.6 percent more expensive! If you eat two in Switzerland, you could eat 3 in the United States!

Big Mac is a benchmark against food prices in the countries too

It’s RM13.40 in Malaysia and I think it’s a luxury versus say a beef burger from the stalls we could buy almost anywhere in Malaysia. Of course, if we asked for double patty from the roadside stall, then the price difference will be smaller. Perhaps can add an egg too and the price is still lower. Suddenly I feel hungry now. Haha.

Enjoy your Big Mac and be happy that the price is actually one of the cheapest in the world.

Please share with people you care.

Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER). 

Alternatively, Follow me on Telegram here.

Please LIKE kopiandproperty.com FB page to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles.