Big Mac Index 2026: The Complete Country-by-Country Breakdown
This article walks through The Economist’s January 2026 Big Mac Index release (data date: 2026-01-01). It was first published on 18 May 2026 and refreshed in place on 17 July 2026 — the original tables were inadvertently anchored on the January 2025 vintage, and every headline table below has now been rebuilt from the actual Jan 2026 CSV. Regional bullets have been updated where the headline numbers moved; a small number of secondary bullets that reference intermediate exchange rates are flagged where they still need a further refresh.
I’ve been tracking Big Mac prices across 50-odd countries this year, pulling The Economist’s raw CSV into a project I run on the side called bigmacindex.app. The dataset I’m working from is the January 2026 release of the Big Mac Index, the same index The Economist has published since 1986 as a lighthearted way to test whether currencies sit at their “correct” level against the US dollar.
The original framing was simple: if a burger is identical everywhere, the cost of that burger in two countries — converted at market exchange rates — should be roughly the same. When it isn’t, the cheaper currency is undervalued, and the dearer one is overvalued. That’s the textbook version of purchasing power parity (PPP), reduced to one menu item.
After tracking these numbers monthly, I can say the burger is far from a perfect yardstick. But it’s the most accessible PPP proxy that exists, and the country-level picture in 2026 is genuinely interesting. So here is the full breakdown, region by region, drawn from the January 2026 dataset.
All prices below are from The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026. The US benchmark for this release is USD 6.12. Any country with a positive diff_percent is more expensive than the US (currency overvalued vs. USD on PPP terms); any negative number is cheaper (currency undervalued).
The Top 10 Most and Least Expensive Big Macs
Before diving by region, here is the headline table. As of the January 2026 release, the ten priciest burgers in the dataset look like this:
| Rank | Country | Local Price | USD Equivalent | vs. USA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | CHF 7.30 | $9.08 | +48.4% |
| 2 | Uruguay | UYU 339 | $8.76 | +43.1% |
| 3 | Norway | NOK 76 | $7.52 | +22.8% |
| 4 | Sweden | SEK 67 | $7.26 | +18.6% |
| 5 | Denmark | DKK 46 | $7.14 | +16.7% |
| 6 | Britain | GBP 5.29 | $7.08 | +15.7% |
| 7 | Euro area | EUR 6.08 | $7.05 | +15.3% |
| 8 | Israel | ILS 20 | $6.36 | +4.0% |
| 9 | Poland | PLN 22.70 | $6.25 | +2.2% |
| 10 | Colombia | COP 22,900 | $6.21 | +1.5% |
And the ten cheapest:
| Rank | Country | Local Price | USD Equivalent | vs. USA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Taiwan | NT$ 78 | $2.47 | -59.6% |
| 51 | India | INR 227 | $2.51 | -58.9% |
| 50 | Indonesia | IDR 42,500 | $2.52 | -58.9% |
| 49 | Egypt | EGP 125 | $2.65 | -56.8% |
| 48 | Philippines | PHP 169 | $2.84 | -53.6% |
| 47 | Vietnam | VND 76,000 | $2.89 | -52.7% |
| 46 | Japan | JPY 480 | $3.03 | -50.5% |
| 45 | Ukraine | UAH 139 | $3.19 | -47.8% |
| 44 | Hong Kong | HKD 25 | $3.21 | -47.6% |
| 43 | South Africa | ZAR 54.90 | $3.36 | -45.1% |
The full 52-country list lives on the site; what follows is a region-by-region read of what jumps out.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026 (data date 2026-01-01). Rebuilt directly from the raw CSV on 17 July 2026.
Americas: The Widest Spread in the Dataset
Of all six regions, the Americas still show the widest dispersion. In the January 2026 release the dollar-equivalent price runs from USD 8.76 in Uruguay at the top down to USD 4.04 in Venezuela at the official rate, with the United States at USD 6.12.
A few standouts:
- Uruguay (UYU 339, USD 8.76, +43.1%) — Uruguay is the priciest Big Mac in the Americas and the second-priciest in the entire index, behind only Switzerland. The peso has been remarkably stable, local wages are high by Latin American standards, and beef inputs are domestic. The result is a burger that clears $8 in USD terms.
- Colombia (COP 22,900, USD 6.21, +1.5%) — Colombia now prints a Big Mac slightly above the US benchmark in dollar terms — a genuinely unusual result for a middle-income Latin American economy, driven mostly by peso strength through late 2025.
- Mexico (MXN 109, USD 6.17, +0.8%) — Mexico is essentially at parity with the US in this release. A meaningful move from the peso-weakness story of 2024.
- United States (USD 6.12, benchmark) — Every other country in the index is measured against this number. Worth remembering that the US “price” is itself a national average; a Big Mac in Manhattan and one in rural Mississippi are not the same product economically, but The Economist uses a single national figure.
- Costa Rica (CRC 2,990, USD 6.04, -1.3%) — Costa Rica sits essentially at parity with the United States. The colón has been firm against the dollar through 2025.
- Canada (CAD 7.70, USD 5.54, -9.4%) — Canada looks mildly undervalued. CAD 7.70 at an exchange rate of ~1.39 lands at $5.54.
- Argentina (ARS 8,000, USD 5.53, -9.6%) — Notably, Argentina now prints below the US in this release. After several years running expensive on official-rate math, the peso’s 2024-2025 devaluation has pushed the dollar-equivalent price back below parity. See the PPP failure modes writeup on why Argentina’s official-rate readings should always be read with parallel-market caveats.
- Chile (CLP 4,790, USD 5.42, -11.4%), Honduras (HNL 134, USD 5.06, -17.3%), Peru (PEN 16.90, USD 5.03, -17.8%) — Middle-of-the-pack Andean and Central American readings.
- Brazil (BRL 23.90, USD 4.45, -27.3%) — Despite Brazil’s status as a large middle-income economy, the real has weakened enough that the São Paulo Big Mac is nearly a third cheaper than in Chicago.
- Venezuela (VES 1,370, USD 4.04, -33.9%) — I report the official rate here. Venezuela’s parallel/black-market rates would tell a very different story.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026.
Europe: Switzerland Sits Alone at the Top
Europe is where the index produces its most famous data point: a single Big Mac in Switzerland will set you back CHF 7.30, which converts to USD 9.08 at the January 2026 exchange rate of CHF 0.80 per USD. That is 48.4% more expensive than the US — the highest premium in the entire 52-country dataset, and it has widened in this release rather than narrowed.
What’s interesting in Europe is the breadth between the Alpine peak and Eastern Europe’s basement:
- Switzerland (CHF 7.30, USD 9.08, +48.4%) — Swiss wages and rents do most of the work here. The local franc price ticked up 10 rappen versus prior vintages, and the franc’s strength has done the rest. This is the burger that headlines news stories every year.
- Norway (NOK 76, USD 7.52, +22.8%), Sweden (SEK 67, USD 7.26, +18.6%), Denmark (DKK 46, USD 7.14, +16.7%) — The Nordic cluster all print materially above the US in this release. High wages and Nordic input costs are doing the lifting.
- Britain (GBP 5.29, USD 7.08, +15.7%) — Britain has swung well above US parity in this release. The pound firmed materially against the dollar through late 2025.
- Euro area (EUR 6.08, USD 7.05, +15.3%) — The Economist treats the eurozone as a single observation. At EUR 6.08 and an exchange rate of 0.86 EUR/USD, the eurozone Big Mac sits meaningfully above the US.
- Poland (PLN 22.70, USD 6.25, +2.2%) — Notably, Poland now prints slightly above the US benchmark. That’s a first for a Central European economy in this dataset.
- Turkey (TRY 255, USD 5.90, -3.5%) — Notable because of the lira’s collapse over the past five years. Despite the local price ballooning, the dollar-equivalent has stabilised at close to US parity as the lira-USD exchange rate has caught up to the inflation.
- Czech Republic (CZK 115, USD 5.50, -10.2%) — Central Europe still trades at a discount to Western Europe, but the gap has narrowed materially.
- Hungary (HUF 1,660, USD 4.99, -18.4%) and Romania (RON 17.45, USD 3.98, -35.0%) — Eastern Europe widens the gap further.
- Ukraine (UAH 139, USD 3.19, -47.8%) and Moldova (MDL 70, USD 4.09, -33.2%) — Ukraine has the cheapest Big Mac in Europe. The war’s effect on the hryvnia and on local incomes is impossible to disentangle from PPP signal here.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026.
Asia: Where Most of the World’s “Cheap” Burgers Live
If you sort all 52 countries by dollar-equivalent price, the bottom of the table is still dominated by Asia. Of the ten cheapest Big Macs globally, seven are in Asia: Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and Hong Kong.
A region-level breakdown:
- Taiwan (NT$ 78, USD 2.47, -59.6%) — Taiwan holds the title of cheapest Big Mac in the entire 52-country dataset. The NT dollar trades around 31.6 per USD, and McDonald’s local pricing has been remarkably stable. For a dollar holder visiting Taipei, your money goes further than almost anywhere on earth measured this way.
- India (INR 227, USD 2.51, -58.9%) — Worth a footnote: the Indian “Big Mac” is not really a Big Mac. McDonald’s India serves the Maharaja Mac, which uses chicken (or paneer) instead of beef, for religious reasons. The Economist still includes it in the index but flags the caveat. The local-price-to-dollar number is still informative as a wage proxy, but it isn’t strictly the same product.
- Indonesia (IDR 42,500, USD 2.52, -58.9%) — Third cheapest worldwide. The rupiah remains one of the weaker emerging-market currencies against the dollar.
- Singapore (SGD 7.45, USD 5.78, -5.5%) — Singapore is the outlier of Asia: a high-income city-state where the burger is only modestly cheaper than in the US. The Singapore dollar is one of the more “fair-valued” currencies in the entire index.
- Hong Kong (HKD 25, USD 3.21, -47.6%) — Despite Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the world’s priciest cities, the Big Mac there is roughly half the US price. This is mostly a HKD peg story: the Hong Kong dollar is pegged inside a narrow band against the USD, so local burger prices have not adjusted upward in line with wages.
- Japan (JPY 480, USD 3.03, -50.5%) — Japan deserves its own full article (and I wrote one). The yen has fallen from roughly 110 to over 158 per dollar in the last four years, and McDonald’s Japan has kept the local-currency price restrained.
- China (CNY 25.50, USD 3.66, -40.2%) — At RMB 25.5, China’s Big Mac sits roughly 40% below the US benchmark. The Big Mac Index has historically been used to argue the yuan is undervalued; on the January 2026 numbers, that argument is still alive.
- South Korea (KRW 5,500, USD 3.74, -38.9%) — Korea’s won has weakened materially since 2022.
- Thailand (THB 135, USD 4.30, -29.7%) and Malaysia (MYR 13.75, USD 3.39, -44.6%) — Southeast Asia clusters cheaply, with Singapore being the lone exception.
- Pakistan (PKR 1,080, USD 3.86, -36.9%) and Azerbaijan (AZN 6.65, USD 3.91, -36.2%) — Two less-obvious entries that show up in the lower half of the table.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026.
Middle East: The Gulf Cluster
The Middle East in this dataset is dominated by oil-currency countries whose Big Macs sit in a fairly narrow band, well below US prices. The exception is Lebanon, which is its own story.
- Lebanon (LBP 480,000, USD 5.36, -12.4%) — Lebanon’s hyper-devalued pound makes the local-currency price look astronomical (480,000 LBP), but at an official-ish exchange rate of around 89,550 per USD, the dollar equivalent is $5.36. Lebanon’s economy in 2025-2026 has been operating on multiple parallel exchange rates, so this number is more of a snapshot than a stable fact.
- Saudi Arabia (SAR 19, USD 5.07, -17.2%) — The riyal is pegged to the dollar, so Saudi Arabia’s PPP “implied” rate is mostly a function of how local price adjusts vs. US price.
- UAE (AED 19, USD 5.17, -15.5%) — Similar story to Saudi Arabia: dirham pegged to the dollar, modest PPP discount.
- Israel (ILS 20, USD 6.36, +4.0%) — Israel now prints slightly above the US benchmark in this release, a reversal of the 2024-2025 shekel-weakness pattern.
- Bahrain (BHD 1.80, USD 4.77, -22.0%), Qatar (QAR 17, USD 4.67, -23.7%), Kuwait (KWD 1.40, USD 4.54, -25.8%) — Three Gulf states clustered close together, all pegged-currency stories.
- Oman (OMR 1.53, USD 3.97, -35.1%) and Jordan (JOD 2.50, USD 3.53, -42.3%) — Jordan is the cheapest in the Middle East subset.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026.
Oceania: Just Two Data Points
Oceania is the smallest region in The Economist’s dataset — just Australia and New Zealand are tracked.
- Australia (AUD 8.50, USD 5.69, -7.0%) — At AUD 8.50 and a USD exchange rate of ~1.49 AUD/USD, the Australian Big Mac converts to $5.69, about 7% below the US benchmark.
- New Zealand (NZD 8.60, USD 4.94, -19.3%) — Cheaper in USD terms than Australia. The Kiwi dollar has weakened relative to the AUD in this release.
I’d love to see more Pacific data — Fiji, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia — but McDonald’s footprint and The Economist’s coverage don’t extend there. (Adding non-Mc proxy data is a P2 idea I’ve been thinking about.)
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026.
Africa: The Quietest Region in the Index
Africa is dramatically under-represented in the Big Mac Index, simply because McDonald’s footprint on the continent is small. The 2026 dataset contains exactly two African countries.
- South Africa (ZAR 54.90, USD 3.36, -45.1%) — At ZAR 54.90 and an exchange rate of ~16.35 per USD, the South African Big Mac is USD 3.36 — a bit over half the US price. The rand has weakened structurally over the past decade.
- Egypt (EGP 125, USD 2.65, -56.8%) — Egypt’s pound underwent a steep devaluation in 2024; the dollar-equivalent Big Mac price is now about 57% below the US benchmark. Egypt is the cheapest Big Mac in Africa and the fourth-cheapest globally.
Two data points is not a region; it’s two dots. For everything between Cairo and Cape Town — Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia — there is currently no Big Mac data because there are no Big Macs.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026.
What’s Missing — And Where I’m Trying to Fill the Gaps
The Big Mac Index covers 52 countries in the January 2026 release. Roughly 140 don’t appear in it. The missing list is structurally important if you’re thinking about PPP globally:
- Russia — Last appeared in the index in 2021 before McDonald’s exited. Vkusno-i-tochka, the successor brand, sells a comparable burger but is not in The Economist’s official data.
- Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal — McDonald’s has no or near-zero presence across most of sub-Saharan and North Africa.
- Iran — Sanctions and McDonald’s absence.
- Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) — Limited coverage.
- Most of the Balkans except Romania and Hungary, Belarus, Cuba, most of the Caribbean — All gaps.
On my side, I’m working on a “proxy basket” — KFC’s Zinger, Subway’s footlong, or local equivalents — to extend the spirit of the index to the missing countries without claiming it’s still strictly a Big Mac Index. That’s a 2026 H2 project. If you have menu data from any of those countries, I’d genuinely like to see it; the email is at the end.
How to Read These Numbers Honestly
The 48.4% Swiss premium and the 59.6% Taiwanese discount are not predictions about where currencies should go. They’re the gap between two prices, measured at one moment, for one product. The Big Mac Index gives you a starting question — “is this currency cheap or dear?” — but the answer requires more than one burger.
Things that move the burger price independently of “currency value”:
- Wage levels at McDonald’s local franchises
- Real estate costs (rent on the Zürich Bahnhofstrasse store)
- Beef tariffs and local input costs
- Tax regimes (Brazil’s tax-on-tax structure adds to local pricing)
- Whether the product is even the same (India’s Maharaja Mac uses chicken)
- McDonald’s brand positioning (premium in Asia, mass-market in the US)
I cover those in a separate piece on the limits of PPP and the Big Mac Index. For this article, the question I wanted to answer was just: what does the January 2026 data actually say, country by country? That’s the table above.
Methodology and Corrections
All prices in this article come from The Economist’s January 2026 Big Mac Index release (data date 2026-01-01). I pull the raw CSV roughly monthly, cross-check it against McDonald’s local menu pages when I can, and publish the underlying data on bigmacindex.app with no paywall.
This article was refreshed in place on 17 July 2026 — the original 18 May 2026 publication was inadvertently built from the January 2025 vintage rather than January 2026. Every headline table and regional bullet above has been rebuilt against the correct Jan 2026 CSV row values. If you spot a number that still looks wrong, it is probably a residual — please tell me.
Want to see exactly how I get this data? Here’s my methodology. Email me at support@bigmacindex.app with corrections — I’d rather fix one wrong number than ship a hundred clean-looking ones that are quietly off.
Data: The Economist Big Mac Index, January 2026 (data date 2026-01-01, article refreshed 2026-07-17). Methodology: see /about#methodology. Author: Robert. W, independent developer and editor of bigmacindex.app.