Where in the world do you get the cheapest iPhone 6 or pair of Adidas trainers?
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Version 0 of 1. Where in the world do you get the cheapest haircut or the cheapest weekend break? An annual survey from Deutsche Bank that compares purchasing power across countries, similar to the Economist’s Big Mac index, found that shopping in Europe and Japan has become a lot cheaper in the past year, while India remains the cheapest major economy in the world. Australia is still the world’s most expensive country while the US is the cheapest developed country, although the gap between the two has narrowed, according to the Mapping Prices survey, which compares the cost of various goods and services such as an iPhone, a pair of Levi’s, taxi trips, tuition fees and health insurance. Deutsche’s survey found that despite the stronger dollar, the US remains the cheapest place to buy an iPhone 6, for $650 (£440), which costs almost twice as much in Brazil, at $1,254. The US is also one of the cheapest places to buy a pair of Levi’s 501 ($54 in New York) along with India ($34 in Mumbai) and Canada ($42.70 in Toronto). In Singapore ($103.30), Hong Kong and China, a pair costs around twice as much as in the US. Meanwhile, a pair of Adidas Super Star 2 trainers is cheapest in Brazil ($49.50), Japan ($62.50), South Africa ($68.90) and Mexico ($72.10). Germany is the most expensive place to buy a pair – even though Adidas is based in Herzogenaurach, Germany – along with France ($130). Head to India for the world’s cheapest standard haircut for men: $2.40 in Delhi and $3.70 in Mumbai. Switzerland is at the other end of the scale: a haircut in Zurich will set you back $49.80. Singapore remains by far the most expensive place to buy a car, with a Volkswagen Golf costing $112,818, compared with $11,345 in Mumbai and $14,092 in Moscow. For watching a movie, try Mumbai ($3.80), Delhi ($4.50) and Kuala Lumpur ($4) but avoid Zurich ($19.70). The survey found that Germany is the best place to do an MBA – the fees are a third of US universities but salaries offered to graduates are 80-85% of US levels. For a cheap weekend getaway, nothing beats Mumbai ($507.70) and Delhi ($546.80), although Tokyo ($750.50), Ottawa ($759) and Toronto ($755.20) were surprisingly attractive. Sydney ($2,164), Paris ($1,530) and London ($1,748) remain the dearest due to high hotel room rates. Indian cities are also the cheapest places to go out on a date (Mumbai: $24.70), followed by Mexico City ($35) and Rio de Janeiro ($48.50). Despite the yen’s weakening, Tokyo ($103.50) is still an expensive place for a date. So are Wellington ($99.60) and San Francisco ($104.60). The Deutsche researchers defined a date as “cab rides, McDonald’s burgers, a soft drink, two movie tickets and a couple of beers”. Like the Big Mac index, Deutsche’s survey is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP) that over the long run, currencies should adjust so that a basket of identical goods costs the same everywhere. The bank says a key finding this year is the extent to which exchange rate movements affect prices across countries. When the bank began its survey four years ago, Brazil was the most expensive emerging market in the world and was dearer than the US for several categories. Since then, currency depreciation has brought Brazilian prices more in line with what one would expect for a country at its level of development. The Deutsche survey includes, cheekily, the cost of a subscription to the Economist magazine. The Economist’s Big Mac index rates countries according to how much a Big Mac costs and is a measure of how far a US dollar will go in those countries. It was invented in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at the “correct” level. The latest index showed you get the most Big Mac for your buck in Ukraine, while the most expensive Big Mac was in Switzerland. |