Big Mac Index
Big Mac in Switzerland +45% vs US, as of Jul 2026. Priciest Big Mac vs USD. Big Mac Index and the other weird recession indicators are on one page, each with its latest reading.
+ Details
Base price: a Big Mac costs $6.22 in the United States.
Most overvalued currencies against the dollar: Switzerland +45%, Uruguay +44%, Norway +29%.
Most undervalued currencies against the dollar: Indonesia −62%, Taiwan −61%, India −61%.
The Economist's Big Mac index: the price of a Big Mac in each country, turned into dollars at the market exchange rate, against the US price.
The idea is purchasing power parity (PPP): in the long run, exchange rates should move towards the rate that makes the same goods cost the same in any two countries. The burger is that one good, the "law of one price" on a bun.
+45% means a Big Mac costs 45% more in dollars there than in the US, a rough hint that the currency is dear against the dollar. This is the raw index, not the GDP-adjusted one. Updated twice a year.
Burgers should cost less where wages and rents are low, and those costs are not traded across borders. The Economist's GDP-adjusted index allows for that; the raw index does not.
The Economist started the index in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their "correct" level, not as a precise measure.
Data: The Economist, CC BY 4.0, github.com/TheEconomist/big-mac-data.
Source: The Economist, CC BY 4.0. As of Jul 2026.