What are the cheapest countries to live in the world? On the World Bank’s 2024 price levels for household consumption, Egypt comes first. The same basket of goods and services cost 15.3% of what it cost in the US. Nigeria (18.0%), Pakistan (23.3%) and India (23.8%) come next. Of 163 economies with usable figures, 158 were cheaper than the United States. Only four cost more: Vanuatu, the Bahamas, Iceland and Switzerland.
That’s the data. Whether any of it is a place to live is a different question, and the top of this list shows why.
What the number measures
Most “cheapest countries” lists use crowdsourced cost-of-living sites. This page uses one official measure, built from the World Bank’s International Comparison Program.
The price level is a country’s purchasing power parity for household consumption divided by its market exchange rate, with the US set to 100. A score of 30 means a basket that costs $100 in the US costs about $30 there.
Three limits come with it:
- It’s a national average. The capital and a farm town get one number.
- It’s a local basket. It reflects what households there buy, not what a foreign retiree buys: private insurance, imported food, a flat in the expat part of town.
- 2024 is an estimate. The last full price survey was for 2021. The World Bank extends it with national price data until the 2024 survey is published, and its own FAQ warns the index isn’t meant for strict rankings. Countries a point or two apart are effectively tied.
I calculated each figure from the World Bank’s two series for 2024, PPP for household consumption and the official exchange rate. The “$2,088 buys” column applies it to the average retired worker’s Social Security check, $2,087.52 in August 2026.
The cheapest countries to live in the world: the top 20
| # | Country | Price level (US = 100) | $2,088 buys what this buys in the US | Social Security payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 15.3 | $13,600 | Paid |
| 2 | Nigeria | 18.0 | $11,630 | Paid |
| 3 | Pakistan | 23.3 | $8,970 | Paid |
| 4 | India | 23.8 | $8,780 | Paid |
| 5 | Bhutan | 25.0 | $8,370 | Paid |
| 6 | Belarus | 25.2 | $8,290 | Restricted |
| 7 | Tanzania | 25.3 | $8,250 | Paid |
| 8 | Nepal | 26.4 | $7,910 | Paid |
| 9 | Uzbekistan | 26.7 | $7,830 | Restricted |
| 10 | Ukraine | 26.9 | $7,760 | Paid |
| 11 | Rwanda | 27.4 | $7,610 | Paid |
| 12 | Madagascar | 27.6 | $7,560 | Paid |
| 13 | Laos | 27.7 | $7,520 | Paid |
| 14 | Bangladesh | 28.5 | $7,320 | Paid |
| 15 | The Gambia | 28.7 | $7,290 | Paid |
| 16 | Zambia | 28.9 | $7,220 | Paid |
| 17 | Sri Lanka | 29.0 | $7,210 | Paid |
| 18 | Tajikistan | 29.4 | $7,100 | Restricted |
| 19 | Vietnam | 29.6 | $7,050 | Paid |
| 20 | Ethiopia | 29.7 | $7,040 | Paid |
Two economies are left out. Liberia’s and Bulgaria’s 2024 figures pair a PPP and an exchange rate in different currency units, which produces impossible results.
“Restricted” means Social Security generally won’t pay you there. More below.
Where the countries Americans actually move to land
| Country | Price level (US = 100) | $2,088 buys what this buys in the US |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 30.9 | $6,760 |
| Malaysia | 31.7 | $6,590 |
| Indonesia | 32.2 | $6,480 |
| Philippines | 36.2 | $5,770 |
| Cambodia | 36.3 | $5,750 |
| Colombia | 37.9 | $5,520 |
| Ecuador | 45.0 | $4,640 |
| Albania | 49.2 | $4,240 |
| Panama | 51.1 | $4,090 |
| Mexico | 59.0 | $3,540 |
| Greece | 60.4 | $3,460 |
| Portugal | 60.5 | $3,450 |
| Spain | 63.7 | $3,280 |
| Costa Rica | 63.7 | $3,280 |
| Italy | 67.7 | $3,090 |
| France | 77.6 | $2,690 |
Even France, the dearest country here, stretches a dollar further than home. And Costa Rica sits exactly level with Spain.
Why the top of the list isn’t a moving list
Some of it is a currency crisis. Egypt’s price level was 26.3 in 2021 and 15.3 in 2024. Nigeria’s fell from 38.8 to 18.0. Nothing got cheaper for people paid locally. Their currencies dropped against the dollar, and that shows up as low prices for anyone holding dollars. It can also reverse. A price level built on a falling currency is the least stable number in the table.
Some of it is off-limits for your check. Social Security can’t send payments to Cuba or North Korea, and it restricts payments to seven former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Three of them are in the top 20. Azerbaijan (31.1) and Kyrgyzstan (31.9) sit just below it. The details are on can I collect Social Security if I live abroad.
Some of it is unsafe. Ukraine is in the top 10, and it’s at war.
And the index doesn’t price your health. A national basket includes what locals spend on health care. It doesn’t include what an insurer charges a 68-year-old foreigner, which rises with every birthday. That’s often the line that decides a budget.
The honest use of this table is as a filter. It tells you where your money has room. Then check three things the index can’t: whether you can get a residence visa on your income, whether the place holds up in a bad year, and what a policy costs at your age.
From a price level to a budget
Multiply. If your month in the US costs $3,000, the same basket costs about $930 in Thailand (30.9% of $3,000), $1,770 in Mexico and $1,910 in Spain. Then add the costs that don’t follow local prices: insurance, flights home and, if you keep it, Medicare Part B.
For the full picture on one check, see retiring abroad on $2,000 a month and how much money you need to retire abroad. Asia in detail is on Southeast Asia on $1,500 a month. For a ranking built on safety, water, food and energy rather than price, see the best countries for Americans in 2027.