and the most expensive country in the world is..

[dks]

Australia wins again
It is a surprise, but they have apparently  won for the last 4 years running (I always thought that Australia was cheaper regarding cars etc. but the German banks disagree with me )

http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/why-australias-still-the-worlds-most-expensive-place-to-live-20150416-1mm3lt.html




in order:

Relative price levels as implied by PPP
(US=100)   2012   2013   2014   2015

Australia   163.20   152   137.20   112.4 New Zealand   125   120.9   126.2   111 United Kingdom   111.2   105.10   115.10   103.5 United States   100   100   100   100 Canada   125.4   120.9   112.80   98.30 France   113.5   109.80   114.30   89.80 Japan   133.20   113.7   99.10   85.30 Germany   104.7   101.2   106.7   84.5 Hong Kong   70.4   71.7   71.60   73 Singapore   71.4   71.7   69.60   63 China   55.6   56.90   58.80   59.6 Mexico   59.80   60.7   60.1   52.5 Brazil   86.2   76.3   70.2   51.2 South Africa   63.90   55.40   48.30   44.2 Philippines   41.7   43.80   39.80   40.90 Malaysia   48.6   46.5   43.40   38.90 Russia   59.6   59.80   54.1   35.30 Indonesia   39.7   37   34.2   31.5 India   30.6   29.40   27.90   28.20

Source: Deutsche Bank

[Grant Lamontagne]

Doesn't look like Canada is doing all that well either.   

Def

[Chako]

Agreed.

[gregozedobe]

A big influence has been the drop in value of the $Au compared with the $US.  It wasn't too long ago that $Au 1.00 was worth more than $US 1.00, now it will only get you around $Au0.74 (at PayPal exchange rates).  Current exchange rates have certainly crimped my buying power in the US 

Cars (as well as many other imported goods) have always been much more expensive here in Oz than the US.

[dks]

the strange thing is that according to the table things were worst 4 years ago so you should feel better off now 

[Reinier]

Where are the smaller countries? The Dutch feel a bit left out

[Corwyn]

I think this is in comparison with the actual purchase power...
I doubt Australia prices are even in the same ballpark as prices in Switzerland, Norway, San Marino, Japan etc.

[moonweasel]

I blame Sydney.

[Reinier]

I blame Sydney.

His name is Kirky.

[kosmo]

A big influence has been the drop in value of the $Au compared with the $US.  It wasn't too long ago that $Au 1.00 was worth more than $US 1.00, now it will only get you around $Au0.74 (at PayPal exchange rates).  Current exchange rates have certainly crimped my buying power in the US 

Cars (as well as many other imported goods) have always been much more expensive here in Oz than the US.

Just curious... What percentage of your cars are produced domestically vs imported?

[kkokkolis]

Then why people from India, Indonesia, Phillipines etc want to migrate to Europe, Canada, US and Australia? Beeing cheap doesn't say much if you are jobless or your paycheck is ridiculous. They keep coming to Greece, imagine that, our destroyed economy is preferred to theirs. I wouldn't mind living in Geneva if I would be paid as a Swiss citizen, I would only blame the weather and Kirk (but would have an A class of Swiss Army Knives collection with my payment).

[Syph007]

A big influence has been the drop in value of the $Au compared with the $US.  It wasn't too long ago that $Au 1.00 was worth more than $US 1.00, now it will only get you around $Au0.74 (at PayPal exchange rates).  Current exchange rates have certainly crimped my buying power in the US 

Cars (as well as many other imported goods) have always been much more expensive here in Oz than the US.

I noticed the drop in $Au value actually.  Its cheaper for me to buy some Vic donors from Aussie sellers and pay in USD, even with shipping it costs me less than ordering one here from Amazon.

The Canadian dollar is down too, but it doesnt effect my modding as I buy and sell all in USD.  It actually works out in my favor when I withdraw from paypal and convert to CAD as I get 20% more. 

[dks]

In the Euro zone you are now forced by the exchange rates to only buy from within the euro zone.

The US dollar is nearly the same as a euro and the British pound is also very strong, making the products sold up to 30% more expensive than they used to be.

Thus for online shopping you are forced to shop from amazon.de and eurozone eBay. The winner from this situation is Germany as they seem to have quite a few online shops, like amazon.de, assuming the money goes there.

[ToolJoe]

I'm not sure what it is but I mailed something from the US post office earlier this week heading to lowtech in Germany and the postal worker at the counter said int'l costs are going up 7% at some point later this year or next.

[gregozedobe]

Just curious... What percentage of your cars are produced domestically vs imported?

Australian made/assembled cars used to be well over 80% (there was a lot of govt incentives to make locally), these days it is less than 10% and falling fast.  Within two years it will be close to 0% as Holden (GM), Ford and Toyota (the last large-scale manufacturers still making cars in Oz) stop local production completely.

[ColoSwiss]

The cheapest cities:

Karachi,Pakistan
Bangalore, India
Caracas, Venezuela
Mumbai, India
Chennai, India

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

Can't say I have any desire to live in any of them.

[Medic82]

Woho! Norway have the third most expensive Big Mac in the world.