A country’s standard of living may be adversely affected if its cost of living is high. Low-wage employees and retirees on fixed incomes may find it difficult to keep up with the rising cost of basics like housing, electricity, food, clothes, and transportation since the cost of living is rising.
Even those lucky enough to meet their basic needs without having to worry will have less money left over for savings, vacations, the education of their children, and retirement.
An expensive nation may turn away tourists and ex-pats because of the worse value for their money that they will find there than in a cheaper country.
Finding out how much it costs to live there involves figuring out how much it costs to get by on rent/mortgage and utilities and how much it costs to get by on certain things like food and footwear. An example of a base place used for comparison is the famously expensive New York City.
There are no two rankings of the world’s most costly nations that are the same. Several organizations use somewhat different calculations to calculate the cost of living, and some include or exclude regions that others do not. Some patterns may be seen by looking at many lists:
List of the 10 Most Expensive Countries to Live in Per Month in U.S. Dollars
- Monaco – $3743
- Cayman Islands (U.K. Territory) – $2844
- Switzerland – $2497
- Ireland – $2316
- Liechtenstein – $2306
- Iceland – $2207
- Singapore – $2169
- Luxembourg – $2163
- Norway – $2074
- United States – $1951
New York City, USA, is ranked at the top of the list of the world’s most expensive cities by Numbeo.
- Bermuda (U.K. Territory) – 126.71
- Switzerland – 92.59
- Jersey (U.K. territory) – 80.36
- Hong Kong (China) – 79.31
- Luxembourg – 75.53
- Iceland – 75.12
- Singapore – 74.46
- Norway – 72.72
- Denmark – 63.53
- Ireland – 63.18
List of the 10 Most Expensive Countries to Live in (Global average = 100)
- Bermuda (U.K. Territory) – 225.86
- Iceland – 209.10
- Switzerland – 197.89
- Norway – 186.52
- Denmark – 171.78
- Barbados – 169.90
- Australia – 168.02
- Israel – 167.52
- New Zealand – 160.18
- Bahamas – 158.09
Many of the world’s most costly cities fall into two groups. Monaco, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda are exotic holiday spots, whereas Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway are examples of northern European hotspots.
According to two of the three studies (the third does not follow Bermuda), Bermuda is the most expensive location to live in in the world.
A 900-square-foot apartment in Bermuda’s main city, Hamilton, can cost US$4,058 per month, making it one of the world’s most expensive cities.
In addition to Switzerland and Iceland, which have some of the most costly food in Europe, several other nations are routinely more expensive than the rest of Europe. Despite its high cost, Iceland offers several advantages: it is routinely rated as the world’s safest nation.
Norway is on all three lists, but the score doesn’t convey the complete picture. As a result of Norway’s high salaries, there are fewer economic gaps here than in the United States.
People working in the service sector, education, and the public sector get a decent wage. With the highest taxes globally, Norway offers free universal health care and free education to its residents, despite its progressive taxation structure.
There is a striking lack of U.S. representation in all three rankings. To be fair, the United States has its fair share of pricey cities, such as New York and San Francisco, and major metropolitan areas like Chicago and Los Angeles.
Also See: Most Developed Countries in Africa 2022
Although remote locations have cheaper expenses, this lowers the overall average. See the table below for a comprehensive list of nations and their scores.
Country | Cost of Living (Monthly US$) - LivingCost | Cost of Living w Rent (NYC=100) - Numbeo |
---|---|---|
Monaco | 3743 | |
Cayman Islands | 2844 | |
Switzerland | 2497 | 92.5900 |
Ireland | 2316 | 63.1800 |
Liechtenstein | 2306 | |
Iceland | 2207 | 75.1200 |
Singapore | 2169 | 74.4600 |
Luxembourg | 2163 | 75.5300 |
Norway | 2074 | 72.7200 |
United States | 1951 | 57.6000 |
Australia | 1944 | 61.2800 |
United Kingdom | 1929 | 53.2400 |
Qatar | 1856 | 55.9300 |
Denmark | 1837 | 63.5300 |
Vanuatu | 1829 | |
New Zealand | 1782 | 57.5600 |
Netherlands | 1778 | 60.1000 |
Israel | 1774 | 60.6300 |
Seychelles | 1725 | 55.7600 |
Bahamas | 1715 | 61.5100 |
Canada | 1701 | 54.6200 |
Austria | 1617 | 53.8200 |
United Arab Emirates | 1576 | 49.8100 |
North Korea | 1540 | |
Finland | 1536 | 53.8900 |
Malta | 1519 | 54.4700 |
France | 1519 | 54.2200 |
Sweden | 1515 | 53.5500 |
Belgium | 1495 | 53.3500 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 1465 | |
Marshall Islands | 1464 | |
Germany | 1414 | 50.1600 |
Lebanon | 1411 | 49.4600 |
Japan | 1370 | 56.5800 |
Italy | 1359 | 47.8400 |
Kuwait | 1326 | 41.5700 |
Maldives | 1288 | 47.6500 |
Cyprus | 1266 | 43.7600 |
Spain | 1260 | 41.1600 |
Barbados | 1258 | 61.1700 |
Andorra | 1232 | |
Curacao | 1222 | |
Solomon Islands | 1222 | |
Equatorial Guinea | 1185 | |
Slovenia | 1175 | 38.9600 |
San Marino | 1168 | |
Bahrain | 1165 | 44.7000 |
South Korea | 1154 | 51.8400 |
Saint Lucia | 1153 | |
Brunei | 1152 | |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1145 | |
Senegal | 1144 | 37.9700 |
Turkmenistan | 1141 | |
Grenada | 1128 | |
Samoa | 1109 | |
Panama | 1092 | 39.2500 |
Oman | 1086 | 34.9300 |
Taiwan | 1057 | 43.1500 |
Palau | 1040 | |
Estonia | 1040 | 36.2400 |
Portugal | 1038 | 37.3800 |
Tonga | 1035 | |
Czech Republic | 1014 | 34.5900 |
Ivory Coast | 1010 | 37.5800 |
Greece | 1008 | 37.5200 |
Mozambique | 1006 | |
Croatia | 1001 | 36.3600 |
Slovakia | 990 | 33.5300 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 979 | |
South Africa | 974 | 32.1900 |
Saudi Arabia | 952 | 32.4400 |
Niger | 950 | |
Latvia | 938 | 33.0600 |
Palestine | 937 | 35.5200 |
Zimbabwe | 935 | 29.8200 |
Uruguay | 929 | 33.7000 |
Namibia | 921 | |
Nigeria | 916 | 31.5900 |
Chile | 905 | 33.0600 |
Angola | 896 | |
Belize | 889 | 32.7400 |
Laos | 888 | |
Poland | 882 | 31.4000 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 880 | |
Cuba | 880 | 37.3100 |
Guinea | 877 | |
Lithuania | 869 | 31.5600 |
Myanmar | 864 | 28.8000 |
Guatemala | 857 | 31.3400 |
Dominica | 856 | |
Costa Rica | 852 | 33.3200 |
Jordan | 850 | 31.9700 |
Thailand | 831 | 31.1100 |
Jamaica | 829 | 35.8700 |
Hungary | 817 | 28.6200 |
El Salvador | 816 | 30.1800 |
Somalia | 811 | 21.2200 |
Guyana | 803 | 30.7800 |
Burkina Faso | 799 | |
Cape Verde | 797 | |
Mauritania | 781 | |
Fiji | 773 | 32.4200 |
Honduras | 765 | 27.1400 |
Tanzania | 760 | 24.2000 |
Ecuador | 756 | 26.4200 |
China | 752 | 29.9100 |
Bolivia | 750 | 24.1000 |
DR Congo | 748 | |
Sierra Leone | 745 | |
Benin | 731 | |
Montenegro | 720 | 26.9500 |
Suriname | 714 | 31.5600 |
Guinea-Bissau | 712 | |
Eswatini | 711 | |
Serbia | 711 | 24.7300 |
Dominican Republic | 711 | 27.1500 |
Iraq | 710 | 24.5900 |
Ghana | 701 | 30.4600 |
Lesotho | 694 | |
Cambodia | 692 | 32.4900 |
Cameroon | 688 | 25.4900 |
Mexico | 678 | 26.4300 |
Zambia | 676 | 21.6300 |
Togo | 669 | |
Iran | 668 | 29.5800 |
Botswana | 666 | 27.3700 |
Malawi | 666 | |
Venezuela | 657 | 29.7300 |
Russia | 656 | 26.8300 |
Bulgaria | 654 | 25.2000 |
Kenya | 654 | 23.8700 |
Romania | 652 | 24.8000 |
Malaysia | 652 | 24.9900 |
Mauritius | 651 | 30.9000 |
Morocco | 644 | 23.6800 |
Vietnam | 639 | 26.2900 |
Nicaragua | 633 | 26.4800 |
Rwanda | 633 | 25.3400 |
Peru | 630 | 22.9500 |
Tuvalu | 608 | |
Albania | 608 | 24.2500 |
Uganda | 604 | 21.3600 |
Mongolia | 603 | 22.7800 |
Philippines | 601 | 25.8300 |
Brazil | 601 | 23.6500 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 599 | |
Armenia | 592 | 23.2200 |
Comoros | 589 | |
Gabon | 587 | |
Nauru | 584 | |
Colombia | 574 | 19.0900 |
Ethiopia | 574 | 33.8400 |
Bhutan | 569 | |
Libya | 560 | 35.2500 |
Burundi | 560 | |
Mali | 560 | |
Yemen | 559 | 30.7500 |
Madagascar | 555 | |
North Macedonia | 553 | 20.7000 |
Djibouti | 548 | |
Indonesia | 548 | 23.9100 |
Paraguay | 546 | 21.4500 |
Liberia | 544 | |
Ukraine | 542 | 22.1200 |
Chad | 540 | |
Eritrea | 538 | |
Georgia | 538 | 19.8100 |
Central African Republic | 538 | |
Moldova | 537 | 20.6400 |
Haiti | 531 | |
Papua New Guinea | 530 | |
Uzbekistan | 529 | 19.0200 |
Bangladesh | 521 | 19.9400 |
Gambia | 520 | |
South Sudan | 519 | |
Sudan | 517 | |
Azerbaijan | 513 | 20.2300 |
Kiribati | 511 | |
Belarus | 504 | 21.6900 |
Argentina | 494 | 22.8300 |
Kazakhstan | 468 | 20.3500 |
Tajikistan | 450 | |
Egypt | 449 | 18.4300 |
Turkey | 447 | 20.4900 |
Nepal | 439 | 17.0100 |
Syria | 435 | 17.8300 |
Algeria | 431 | 17.3400 |
Kyrgyzstan | 430 | |
Sri Lanka | 428 | 20.2300 |
Tunisia | 424 | 18.1500 |
India | 423 | 15.8400 |
Pakistan | 370 | 13.8700 |
Afghanistan | 354 | 16.5400 |
Bermuda | 126.7100 | |
Puerto Rico | 45.8900 | |
Hong Kong | 79.3100 |