World Price Comparison 2015: What it costs for a Big Mac and other goods

AUSTRALIA is the most expensive place in the world to buy a whole range of products. A new report tells us exactly how we measure up against other nations.

McDonalds are releasing their special Big Mac sauce for individual sale.

ARE you always complaining about how expensive things are in Australia compared to the rest of the world?

Well, the fourth addition of the Deutsche Bank report into world prices is out and it provides an interesting insight into our hip pocket.

By analysing the cost of certain goods in every country such as a Big Mac, pair of Levi jeans and an iPhone, the report showed just how much more expensive it is to shop in Australia compared to the rest of the world. But it might not be as much as you think.

A key finding of this year’s survey is the extent to which exchange rate movements impacted prices. In previous years, Australia had consistently been the world’s most expensive developed country while the United States had been the cheapest developed country. This year, however, the strength of the US dollar has significantly narrowed the gap between the two.

Meanwhile, India remains the cheapest major economy in the world while shopping in Europe and Japan now feels a lot cheaper than before.

A popular metric is the Big Mac barometer which shows the cheapest place to buy the famous burger. That illustrious honour went to the Ukraine this year at $1.20 USD closely followed by Russia at $1.36 USD. You won’t want to satisfy your Macca’s craving in Switzerland since a single burger will set you back $7.54 USD. For the record, a Big Mac in Australia is $4.32 USD.

For a quick weekend getaway, Sydney, Paris and London remain the most expensive due to high hotel room rates while Mumbai and Delhi are the cheapest. Tokyo, Ottawa and Toronto were also found to be surprisingly attractive.

Indian cities are also the cheapest places to go out on a date. Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro were also found to be reasonably priced. Despite Yen depreciation, Tokyo is still an expensive place for a date as are Wellington and San Francisco.

Big Macs are reasonably priced in Australia.

Coke prices are the highest in the world in Australia.

Other cheap and not so cheap purchases include:

Cheapest:

iPhone 6: USA at $650 USD

New Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDI 140 CV 6: Mumbai, India at $11,345 USD

Cigarettes: Jakarta, Indonesia at $1.35 USD or Russia, Moscow at $1.35 USD

Office space rental*: After India T $23.69 USD it’s Ottawa, Canada at $33.80 USD

Most expensive:

Men’s haircuts: Zurich, Switzerland at $49.80 USD

Beer in a pub: Paris, France at $7.60 USD

A pair of Levis 501: Shanghai, China at $116.40 USD

iPhone 6: Brazil at $1,254 USD

1 litre of petrol: Hong Kong at $2.19

2 litres of Coke: Sydney, Australia at $3.36 USD

* The average rent quoted per square foot per annum for Class A office building within CBD plus additional costs such as property taxes, service charges or operating expenses.