This indicator from the global Numbeo database collects the relative prices of consumer goods such as groceries, restaurants, transportation and public services (it does not include accommodation costs such as rent or mortgage).
Uruguay is the country with the highest cost of living in Latin America, according to a survey by the global database Numbeo. Uruguay gathered 61 points in the index of the platform of Serbian origin, founded by former Google employee Mladen Adamović.
This indicator collects “the relative prices of consumer goods such as groceries, restaurants, transportation and public services (it does not include accommodation expenses such as rent or mortgage),” explains the platform. Furthermore, if the complete list is considered, which brings together information from 84 countries around the world, Uruguay is positioned in 23rd place and rubs shoulders with European countries. It is just a little more expensive than Sweden (60.9), just as expensive as Italy and a little cheaper than the United Kingdom (63.6).
Switzerland is the country that tops the ranking, having generated a score of 117.3. The countries that complete the first 10 places on the 2023 list – and therefore those with the most expensive cost of living in the world – are Iceland (87.7); Singapore (85.9); Norway (82.2); Denmark (79.2); Australia (75.4); United States (74.2); Hong Kong, China (72.4); Luxembourg (71.7); and New Zealand (70.7).
Uruguay, in addition to being above these countries, was nine places behind France (69.1), seven behind Canada (68) and five behind Germany (66). This shows that Uruguay, in addition to being the country with the highest cost of living in South America, is the third most expensive in the entire region (only behind the countries of North America).
On the other hand, there is a South American country among the cheapest places on the planet. In this sense, the 10 countries with the lowest cost of living in the world are Morocco (30.1); Kenya (28.9); Iran (28.4); Colombia (27.6); Türkiye (27.1); Bangladesh (26.2); Nigeria(23.2); India (22.9); Egypt (21.7); and finally Pakistan (17.6).
