Top 15 Most Expensive Countries in the World – 2014

As resources become more and more scarce, countries around the world are facing increasing costs of living. While the cost of living in a particular country is usually correlated with average wages, it is undeniable that some citizens around the globe are having more trouble making ends meet than others. But which are the most expensive countries of them all?

Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the 15 most expensive countries to be living in 2014, in the same key as we have earlier compiled a list of the 10 most expensive cities in the world. The following nations have been ranked according to their consumer price index, which is a relative indicator used to estimate prices of consumer goods, such as groceries, transportation, utilities, and restaurants, but excluding accommodation expenses, such as mortgage or rents. We have also included other indicators, such as rent index, groceries index, and local purchasing power. All of the indexes used in the making of the countdown are relative to prices in New York City, US, which is considered to have a 100% index in all categories. For example, if the consumer price index is 140% in a certain country, it can be assessed that goods are 40% pricier than in New York.

Curious to see which countries have made it on this year’s countdown? Let’s take a look at the countdown.

No. 15: Belgium

BelgiumPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 100.04

Rent index: 34.89

Groceries Index: 93.51

Restaurant Index: 105.82

Local purchasing power: 87.93

No. 14: United Kingdom

LondonPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 100.11

Rent index: 44.19

Groceries Index: 94.25

Restaurant Index: 96.94

Local purchasing power: 94.34

No. 13: France

FrancePublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 100.21

Rent index: 36.86

Groceries Index: 100.19

Restaurant Index: 98.7

Local purchasing power: 92.9

No. 12: Finland

HelsinkiPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 103.28

Rent index: 35.32

Groceries Index: 100.4

Restaurant Index: 103.17

Local purchasing power: 97.9

No. 11: Bahamas

BahamasPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 103.44

Rent index: 47.35

Groceries Index: 98

Restaurant Index: 96.49

Local purchasing power: 93.37

No. 10: Sweden

SwedenPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 103.68

Rent index: 33.79

Groceries Index: 100.35

Restaurant Index: 103.76

Local purchasing power: 106.11

No. 9: New Zealand

New ZealandPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 104.48

Rent index: 42.43

Groceries Index: 104.47

Restaurant Index: 90.09

Local purchasing power: 87.58

No. 8: Ireland

IrelandPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 106.61

Rent index: 39.24

Groceries Index: 102.67

Restaurant Index: 100.03

Local purchasing power: 96.64

No. 7: Australia

SydneyPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 108.51

Rent index: 57.97

Groceries Index: 105.03

Restaurant Index: 97.44

Local purchasing power: 104.2

No. 6: Luxembourg

LuxembourgPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 109.93

Rent index: 64.11

Groceries Index: 97.07

Restaurant Index: 126.51

Local purchasing power: 115.31

No. 5: Iceland

800px-Midbaejarskolinn_reykjavik_sumarPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 111.75

Rent index: 41.07

Groceries Index: 121.07

Restaurant Index: 106.06

Local purchasing power: 59.54

No. 4: Venezuela

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 114.36

Rent index: 39.59

Groceries Index: 132.15

Restaurant Index: 96.24

Local purchasing power: 17.87

No. 3: Denmark

DenmarkPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 114.87

Rent index: 40.05

Groceries Index: 102.61

Restaurant Index: 132.27

Local purchasing power: 100.66

No. 2: Switzerland

SwitzerlandPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 143.88

Rent index: 63.84

Groceries Index: 148.50

Restaurant Index: 145.59

Local purchasing power: 138.05

No. 1: Norway

800px-Midnight_OsloPublic Domain Image: Public Domain

Consumer price index: 144.45

Rent index: 58.88

Groceries Index: 135.52

Restaurant Index: 165.88

Local purchasing power: 94.4