relative to other currency's but as oppose to basing it on some
generic mean-nothing measure, they used what can only be thought of as
the most important measure, the price of a Big Mac. Taking the Big
Mac is important as it eliminates a lot of other noise being that it
is a universal sandwich enjoyed by all people. McDonalds may add some
local flare to their menu in various countries like the the McCurry,
the McCroquette or the EBI Filet O' but the BigMac is a staple.
A Big Mac on the Berlin Turnpike is the same as the one in Saratoga as
the one in Reykjavik or Rio and the price for this delicious sandwich
was charted to compare the cost of it based on the local currency
across a few dozen countries. In the US the average price is $4.80,
which I assume doesn't come with fries or a gigantic Coke, but the
same sandwich in Norway costs about $7.00 although it has dropped in
the last five years from a high of almost $8. In Brazil it's almost
$6 and Canada tops out at $5.25 which is isn't hard to imagine as our
research shows that people are more likely to get a BigMac after a
night of strip-clubs and debauchery, so you could see them jacking the
price up a bit.
What was shocking is how cheap the BigMac is in other places; China,
Russia, Indonesia and South Africa all come in under $3 but
considering people's living wages there, it might still be expensive
for locals. The two cheapest places are India where a delicious
BigMac comes in at just a $1.75 which seems like a great deal till you
realize the BigMac is likely made our of tofu and even at that price
almost 70% of the population couldn't even afford one per day if they
also wanted a drink.
But the 'winner' here is The Ukraine with a BigMac coming in at $1.63
which is a great deal if you are a Russian Separatist with Oligarch
money behind you but still not cheap enough to make you want to go lay
in the beaches of Crimea this summer
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