If you are a food lover, and you are interested in finding out what country offers the cheapest food, then our list of 11 Countries with the Cheapest Food in the World is the right list for you. If you ask a scientist or perhaps “Mister Spock” what is food, the definition that you will get is: “Any consumed substance that provides essential nutritional support for the body can be defined as food.” Luckily, we all know that food is much more than just “nutritional support for the body”, food is the moment when everything else stops and you have one of your most pleasurable times of the day.
Even though our planet provides more than enough food for all of us, there are plenty of countries where people go to bed with an empty stomach. That could be avoided if every country would “eat” as much as they need, not as much as they can. But, since that is not the case, we have countries where food comes very expensive, and represents the most expensive item on an average household’s monthly budget. On the other hand, we have countries where food comes very cheap and is the least expensive thing to worry about. If you come from a country where food is expensive, and if you are thinking of moving, or visiting a country that offers cheap food, then you should definitely read this article to the end, or you can also check out our similar list of 7 Most Affordable Countries To Live and Retire In The World.
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In order to create a valid list of countries that have the least expensive food in the world, we have included the average prices of everyday food products for most countries (Loaf of bread, 1l of milk, 12 eggs, 1kg of potatoes, 1kg of tomatoes, 1kg of white rice, 1kg of boneless chicken breast, 1kg of local cheese, 1kg of apples, and 1kg of lettuce), and calculated how much money you’d need to purchase this basket. We included the countries where you can actually go and eat without getting killed or becoming a part of the menu. The list begins with the most expensive (of the cheapest countries in the world, as far as the food is concerned), and goes down to the ones with the cheapest food in the world.
In case you are not planning on preparing your food by yourself, while you are on the vacation in one of these countries, don’t worry, we have also provided the average price of 3-course meals for 2 people and the most popular meals, for every country as well. However, these prices were not included in the process of ranking the countries.
Let’s begin with the list.
11. Sri Lanka
Total cost of the grocery basket: $24.52
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $14.24
Formerly known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka is a small island country in the Indian Ocean, south of India. It is known for its rainforests, colorful wildlife and long beaches. Sri Lanka is well known for its ancient Buddhist ruins, but for its flavorful and cheap cuisine as well.
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10. Vietnam
Total cost of the grocery basket: $21.68
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $13.35
Vietnam is a country located in the Southeast Asia, on the South China Sea. It is famous for its beautiful beaches, and Buddhist pagodas. In the past few years, meals like spring and bread rolls have become very popular throughout the globe. But the fact is that you cannot find those dishes cheaper than in Vietnam. Furthermore, fresh vegetable, noodles, herbs, and rice, which are usually used in the Vietnamese cuisine, can also be found for a very low price in Vietnam.
9. Philippines
Total cost of the grocery basket: $19.39
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $12.90
The food in the Philippines is not as famous as the Vietnamese or Thai food, but they do have plenty of interesting and quite tasty dishes of their own. This country has plenty of seafood, tropical fruits and it is quite cheap, but you just have to know where to look.
8. Malaysia
Total cost of the grocery basket: $18.95
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $11.83
The cuisine in Malaysia has been strongly influenced by Indian, Thai, Indonesian, and Chinese cuisines, and for preparing their food, Malaysians also use the Wok and love to combine plenty of interesting spices. Their restaurants are quite cheap and definitely worth trying. But if you plan on buying your food in markets, you will be surprised by their low prices.
7. Indonesia
Total cost of the grocery basket: $18.33
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $10.41
In Indonesia, the usual everyday meal offers a bowl of steamed rice and two bowls with chicken and vegetables, and if you want, you can have a soup as well. People there eat food with their right hand fingers, or a fork. If you wonder why they don’t use their left food for eating, it is because they use it for some, let’s just say, less hygienic issues. Their cuisine is known for being very spicy and cheap.
6. Bangladesh
Total cost of the grocery basket: $15.79
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $11.56
Bangladesh is one of the biggest rice producers in the world, and it is quite normal that this is their main food. People here eat huge amounts of rice every day, with every meal, which also contains spicy vegetables and chicken meat or fish. Bangladesh is a country that amongst other cheap food products, offers the lowest price of rice, and that is a good reason to put it on our list of 11 Countries with the Cheapest Food in the World.
5. Algeria
Total cost of the grocery basket: $14.67
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $14.22
Throughout the history of Algeria, there have been many other cultures that have influenced the country’s cuisine and eating habits. Cultures like Romans, Arabs, Turks, and Barbers, have all left a mark on the way Algerians prepare their food today. Their meals are a mixture of different textures, flavors, and aromas. On their markets, you can find many, many different kinds of food and for a very low price as well.
4. Nepal
Total cost of the grocery basket: $14.63
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $5.70
Like the countries around them, Nepal is known for having a cuisine that is a combination of different flavors. Even though their food is very cheap, relatively simple to prepare, and not spicy as in India, it is far from being uninteresting.
3. Moldova
Total cost of the grocery basket: $12.99
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $12.56
Moldova has always been rich with plants and animals. Mushrooms, nuts, small fruit, and berries, were always a great food source, and are present in their cuisine even today. The abundance of animals allowed them to include meat in their food habits, and that hasn’t changed even today. Their food in the markets is quite cheap, but since they are lacking with fish, this item on the menu can be relatively expensive in Moldova.
2. India
Total cost of the grocery basket: $12.92
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $7.59
Some of India’s food habits are five thousand years old. The Indus peoples hunted alligators and turtles for food, and used plants and herbs as well as wild grains in their cuisine. Many of those eating habits remained even today, but don’t worry, I you are not interested in trying alligators or turtles, you can go to a market and buy anything else that you want, and not spend a lot of money at all since India is one of the cheapest countries when it comes to food.
1. Pakistan
Total cost of the grocery basket: $12.88
Three-course meal for 2 People in a Restaurant: $9.58
The food from Pakistan is not that famous in the world, but it is very rich in tradition and the cheapest in the world. Their cuisine is filled with amazing and diverse dishes, and it represents a mixture of Indian, Far and Middle Eastern ways of cooking. For example, they use pomegranate seeds when preparing certain meat meals, and that allows the dish to be sweet and sour at the same time, which is a characteristic found in the Middle Eastern cuisine. So if you plan on visiting this country, you will enjoy great food and not spend a fortune if you take your loved one into a fancy restaurant.
This was our list of 11 Countries with the Cheapest Food in the World. We hope that you found it to be interesting and informative.
