Keeping track of the world’s economies and currencies is made easier by keeping an eye on the price of a product available nearly everywhere—the Big Mac at McDonald’s. This year’s survey crowns Switzerland again as the country with the most over-valued currency at 25.5%.
Here’s how it works. Back in 1986, the Economist, a British financial journal, started tracking the burger as a rough guide to purchasing power of people in different countries. If $1 would buy a Big Mac in the U.S., then a country where it cost $1.10 would be 10% over-valued.
There’s also a more sophisticated version of the Big Mac Index that adjusts for labor costs and Gross Domestic Product. On that index, Brazil shoots to the top at 66% over-valued.
On the raw index, Switzerland was joined as over-valued by Norway, Sweden and Venezuela. On the adjusted index, Switzerland drops to #10, after Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Sweden, Argentina and Israel.
Cheapest place to buy a burger on both indexes is Egypt. On the adjusted index the next few are Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Africa. On the raw index, those places go to Ukraine, Malaysia, South Africa and Russia.
If you’d like to have a look at the whole index, click HERE
