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Curated list · 2026

Where is the cheapest place to live?

Ranked by cost of living (US=100, lower is cheaper), cheapest first. Data: World Bank.

This ranking uses cost-of-living data rooted in the World Bank's International Comparison Program, which compares the price of a common basket of goods and services across countries. The cheapest places cluster in South and Central Asia and parts of Africa and Latin America, where housing, food and services cost a fraction of Western levels. For a nomad the takeaway is clear: low cost buys a long runway, but weigh it against safety, healthcare and visa access from our other lists.

#	Country	Cost (US=100)
1	Venezuela	0
2	Nigeria	13
3	Egypt	15
4	Laos	23
5	Bhutan	23
6	India	23
7	Bulgaria	23
8	Pakistan	24
9	Nepal	24
10	Bangladesh	25
11	Sri Lanka	27
12	Rwanda	27
13	Azerbaijan	28
14	Indonesia	29
15	Vietnam	29
16	Tanzania	29
17	Uzbekistan	29
18	Tunisia	30
19	Zambia	30
20	Thailand	31
21	Ukraine	31
22	Suriname	31
23	Malaysia	32
24	Russia	32
25	Algeria	33
26	Georgia	33
27	Guyana	33
28	Philippines	33
29	Kazakhstan	33
30	Kyrgyzstan	34
31	Cambodia	34
32	Kenya	34
33	Nicaragua	34
34	Mongolia	34
35	Paraguay	35
36	Brunei	35
37	Uganda	35
38	Angola	35
39	Senegal	36
40	Iran	36
41	Mozambique	37
42	Ethiopia	37
43	Ivory Coast	37
44	North Macedonia	37
45	Lebanon	38
46	Botswana	38
47	Colombia	38
48	Ghana	38
49	Iraq	38
50	Afghanistan	38
51	Tajikistan	38
52	Armenia	38
53	Dominican Republic	38
54	Mauritius	39
55	Burundi	40
56	Madagascar	40
57	Malawi	40
58	Myanmar	40
59	Turkmenistan	40
60	Bolivia	40
61	Bosnia and Herzegovina	40
62	Namibia	41
63	Fiji	41
64	El Salvador	41
65	Kosovo	41
66	Turkey	41
67	South Africa	42
68	Montenegro	42
69	Belarus	42
70	Burkina Faso	42
71	Cuba	42
72	Eswatini	42
73	Gambia	42
74	Guinea	42
75	Guinea-Bissau	42
76	Lesotho	42
77	Mali	42
78	Niger	42
79	Sudan	42
80	Togo	42
81	Morocco	42
82	Jordan	42
83	Ecuador	42
84	Albania	43
85	Bahrain	43
86	Moldova	43
87	Guatemala	43
88	Cameroon	44
89	Chad	44
90	Mauritania	44
91	Sierra Leone	44
92	Romania	44
93	Benin	45
94	Central African Republic	45
95	Eritrea	45
96	Liberia	45
97	Libya	45
98	Somalia	45
99	Zimbabwe	45
100	Serbia	45
101	Panama	45
102	Brazil	46
103	Argentina	46
104	Honduras	46
105	Timor-Leste	46
106	Saudi Arabia	47
107	Oman	47
108	China	47
109	Chile	48
110	Cape Verde	48
111	DR Congo	48
112	South Sudan	48
113	Dominica	48
114	Djibouti	50
115	Equatorial Guinea	50
116	Republic of the Congo	50
117	Trinidad and Tobago	51
118	Maldives	51
119	Saint Lucia	51
120	Peru	52
121	Hungary	52
122	Poland	52
123	Belize	53
124	Croatia	53
125	Mexico	54
126	Seychelles	54
127	Gabon	55
128	Jamaica	55
129	Taiwan	55
130	Qatar	56
131	Grenada	57
132	Latvia	57
133	Kuwait	57
134	South Korea	57
135	Slovakia	58
136	Papua New Guinea	58
137	Lithuania	58
138	Costa Rica	59
139	Czech Republic	59
140	Greece	60
141	Portugal	60
142	Singapore	60
143	Samoa	63
144	Slovenia	63
145	United Arab Emirates	63
146	Spain	64
147	Cyprus	65
148	Japan	65
149	Uruguay	66
150	Estonia	66
151	Malta	66
152	Andorra	68
153	St Kitts and Nevis	69
154	Italy	69
155	Antigua and Barbuda	69
156	Curaçao	70
157	Hong Kong	71
158	Vatican City *	72
159	Aruba	75
160	Tonga	75
161	France	77
162	Macau	78
163	San Marino	79
164	Isle of Man	80
165	Germany	80
166	Belgium	81
167	Austria	82
168	Gibraltar	82
169	Canada	83
170	Puerto Rico	84
171	Netherlands	84
172	Palau	85
173	Ireland	85
174	Finland	85
175	New Zealand	86
176	Sweden	87
177	United Kingdom	89
178	Anguilla	90
179	Australia	90
180	Vanuatu	90
181	Norway	91
182	Denmark	92
183	Luxembourg	94
184	Jersey	95
185	Guernsey	95
186	Bahamas	96
187	Turks and Caicos	99
188	United States	100
189	British Virgin Islands	100
190	Israel	101
191	Barbados	110
192	Liechtenstein	110
193	Switzerland	112
194	Cayman Islands	113
195	Monaco	115
196	Iceland	118
197	Bermuda	120

* Residence is not obtainable by ordinary applicants (for example, the Vatican grants residency only to clergy and Holy See employees).

Data: World Bank, GeoNames, PwC. Updated 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest country to live in?

By cost-of-living indexes, countries such as Pakistan, India, Nepal and several in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia rank as the cheapest. Low prices for housing, food and local services drive the ranking. The cheapest option for you depends on where you can legally live and earn, not price alone.

Where can I live cheaply?

Digital nomads often stretch a modest income furthest in places like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and Georgia, which pair low costs with decent infrastructure and visa options. In many of these, $1,000 to $1,500 a month covers rent, food and essentials in a mid-size city. Big capitals and tourist hotspots cost noticeably more than the national average.

How is cost of living compared between countries?

The most rigorous source is the World Bank's International Comparison Program, which prices a standard basket of goods and services and expresses it in purchasing power parity terms. Popular crowd-sourced indexes then track rent, groceries and transport for quick comparisons. Both approaches let you compare real prices rather than just exchange rates.

What are the cheapest countries to live in?

The cheapest countries for daily living are generally in South and Central Asia, such as Pakistan, India and Nepal, along with parts of Africa and Latin America. For nomads who also want good infrastructure and visa access, Vietnam, Colombia, Mexico and Georgia offer the best balance of low cost and livability. Always weigh price against safety, healthcare and internet quality.

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Where is the cheapest place to live?

Frequently asked questions