Data Report

Cost of Living by Country 2026: 95 Countries Ranked for Expats

Built on World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 data. Free, CC BY 4.0. Updated 2026-04-27. See what changed →

Data refreshed:4 months ago

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Monthly living costs for a single expat vary by more than 5× across the 95 countries in the WhereNext 2026 dataset — from under $800/month in South and Southeast Asia to over $3,500 in the most expensive Western European destinations

Copy with attribution: “Monthly living costs for a single expat vary by more than 5× across the 95 countries in the WhereNext 2026 dataset — from under $800/month in South and Southeast Asia to over $3,500 in the most expensive Western European destinations” — WhereNext, as of 2026-04-27

At a glance

Cheapest country: Egypt · ~$700/mo
Global median: $1,550/mo (Papua New Guinea)
Most expensive: Switzerland · ~$4,000/mo
Coverage: 95 countries · 4 sub-indexes
Source: World Bank ICP 2021 PLI — CC BY 4.0

Data refreshed 2026-04-27

Compare my costs

The WhereNext Cost of Living Index 2026 ranks 95 countries from cheapest to most expensive based on real monthly expenses — rent, groceries, transport, and utilities — adjusted for purchasing power. Whether you are planning to retire abroad, work remotely, or simply relocate to a more affordable country, this index shows exactly how far your money goes in each destination.

Quick answer

The cheapest country to live in 2026 is Egypt at approximately $700/month for a single expat, with the global median at $1,550/mo (Papua New Guinea). Asia has the lowest regional average ($1,337/mo); Europe averages $2,159/mo. Data is sourced from the World Bank International Comparison Program 2021 Price Level Indices for Actual Individual Consumption, anchored to a US $3,000/mo single-living baseline.

Key facts

#1 cheapest: Egypt ~$700/mo single-person all-in cost.
Global median: $1,550/mo the 50th-percentile country (Papua New Guinea) — half of countries are cheaper, half are pricier.
Asia regional avg $1,337/mo across all Asian countries we cover — the lowest-cost continent.
Europe regional avg $2,159/mo across all European countries we cover.
World Bank ICP 2021 data source — Price Level Indices for Actual Individual Consumption (PLI-AIC), the canonical citable cross-country price measure.

Healthcare costs by country — top destinations vs US

Five common line items. Grey bar = US median; primary-green = destination median; amber appears only when the destination is MORE expensive than the US (rare for healthcare).

Verified 2026-05-24 · WhereNext healthcare-cost dataset

Private ins./mo

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

GP visit

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

Specialist visit

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

ER visit

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

Dental cleaning

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

US baseline (median)Destination cheaper than USDestination MORE expensive than US

Healthcare cost comparison: median values per line item per country vs US baseline.
Line item	Country	Local range	US median	Delta
Private ins./mo	🇵🇹 Portugal	$56-$104	$500	−$420
Private ins./mo	🇪🇸 Spain	$70-$130	$500	−$400
Private ins./mo	🇲🇽 Mexico	$56-$104	$500	−$420
Private ins./mo	🇹🇭 Thailand	$70-$130	$500	−$400
Private ins./mo	🇵🇭 Philippines	$28-$52	$500	−$460
GP visit	🇵🇹 Portugal	$45-$90	$225	−$157
GP visit	🇪🇸 Spain	$40-$75	$225	−$167
GP visit	🇲🇽 Mexico	$25-$45	$225	−$190
GP visit	🇹🇭 Thailand	$25-$45	$225	−$190
GP visit	🇵🇭 Philippines	$10-$25	$225	−$207
Specialist visit	🇵🇹 Portugal	$75-$150	$375	−$262
Specialist visit	🇪🇸 Spain	$65-$125	$375	−$280
Specialist visit	🇲🇽 Mexico	$40-$75	$375	−$317
Specialist visit	🇹🇭 Thailand	$40-$75	$375	−$317
Specialist visit	🇵🇭 Philippines	$20-$40	$375	−$345
ER visit	🇵🇹 Portugal	$360-$750	$1.9K	−$1.3K
ER visit	🇪🇸 Spain	$300-$625	$1.9K	−$1.4K
ER visit	🇲🇽 Mexico	$180-$375	$1.9K	−$1.6K
ER visit	🇹🇭 Thailand	$180-$375	$1.9K	−$1.6K
ER visit	🇵🇭 Philippines	$95-$200	$1.9K	−$1.7K
Dental cleaning	🇵🇹 Portugal	$30-$60	$150	−$105
Dental cleaning	🇪🇸 Spain	$25-$50	$150	−$112
Dental cleaning	🇲🇽 Mexico	$15-$30	$150	−$127
Dental cleaning	🇹🇭 Thailand	$15-$30	$150	−$127
Dental cleaning	🇵🇭 Philippines	$10-$15	$150	−$137

Cost of living by region

Average single-person monthly cost per region, with each region's cheapest-to-priciest range.

Verified 2026-04-27 · World Bank ICP 2021

Other

$850

Africa

$1,117

Asia

$1,337

Americas

$1,634

Middle East

$1,975

Europe

$2,159

Oceania

$2,388

Bar = regional average · line = cheapest→priciest country in the region · single-person all-in monthly cost.

Average monthly cost of living by region, with cheapest and priciest country
Region	Avg / mo	Cheapest	Priciest	Countries
Other	$850	Turkey ($850)	Turkey ($850)	2
Africa	$1,117	Egypt ($700)	South Africa ($1,450)	9
Asia	$1,337	India ($750)	Japan ($2,700)	19
Americas	$1,634	Colombia ($1,000)	United States ($3,000)	16
Middle East	$1,975	Jordan ($1,300)	Israel ($3,550)	8
Europe	$2,159	Moldova ($950)	Switzerland ($4,000)	37
Oceania	$2,388	Papua New Guinea ($1,550)	Australia ($3,350)	4

Cheapest countries to live in 2026

The cheapest country to live in 2026 is Egypt at approximately $700/month, based on a PPP-adjusted cost of living comparison across 95 countries. The top 5 cheapest countries to live in 2026 — ranked by the WhereNext cost of living index — are:

#1🇪🇬 Egypt~$700/mo · index 19
#2🇮🇳 India~$750/mo · index 21
#3🇱🇰 Sri Lanka~$750/mo · index 21
#4🇲🇲 Myanmar~$750/mo · index 21
#5🇳🇵 Nepal~$800/mo · index 22

See the full Cheapest Countries ranking for quality-of-life context, read our 15 cheapest countries to live in 2026 with real single & couple budgets, or browse the free Numbeo-style cost of living comparison for the methodology behind these numbers.

Most affordable cities for expats in 2026

The most affordable city for expats in 2026 is Da Nang at approximately $450/month for a single person. Ranked by modeled monthly cost across WhereNext's 380-city dataset, keeping only cities that clear a quality floor (composite score ≥ 50/100 averaged across safety, healthcare, education, climate, career, and transport), the top 10 most affordable cities are:

#1Da Nang~$450/mo · quality 63/100
#2Chiang Mai~$550/mo · quality 59/100
#3Ho Chi Minh City~$650/mo · quality 60/100
#4Medellin~$650/mo · quality 60/100
#5Hanoi~$750/mo · quality 61/100
#6Sofia~$750/mo · quality 60/100
#7Buenos Aires~$750/mo · quality 59/100
#8Belgrade~$800/mo · quality 60/100
#9Merida~$800/mo · quality 58/100
#10Batumi~$800/mo · quality 55/100

Estimates are modeled from each city's cost index (World Bank ICP 2021 basis) and are not the country-level basket. For a budget-first cut, see cities under $2,000/month or rank all 380 by your own priorities in the city finder.

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API Endpoints

/api/data/cost-of-living/api/data/cost-of-living/csv

Cite As

WhereNext Cost of Living Index 2026, getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026

Free to cite with attribution

By the Numbers

The WhereNext 2026 Cost of Living Index ranks 95 countries by monthly expenses. Egypt is the cheapest at ~$700/month, while Switzerland is the most expensive at ~$4,000/month. The global average is $1,774/month and the median is $1,550/month (Papua New Guinea).

Countries Analyzed

Across 6 regions

Cheapest Country

$700/mo

🇪🇬 Egypt

Most Expensive

$4,000/mo

🇨🇭 Switzerland

Global Average

$1,774/mo

Median: $1,550/mo

Regional Cost Comparison

Regional cost of living varies dramatically in 2026: Other is the cheapest region at $850/month average (cheapest: Turkey at $850/month), while Oceania is the most expensive at $2,388/month average. Data covers 95 countries across 7 regions.

Average estimated monthly cost for a single person, by region. Includes rent, food, transport, and utilities.

Region	Countries	Avg Cost	Cheapest	Most Expensive
Other	2	$850	🇹🇷 Turkey ($850)	🇹🇷 Turkey ($850)
Africa	9	$1,117	🇪🇬 Egypt ($700)	🇿🇦 South Africa ($1,450)
Asia	19	$1,337	🇮🇳 India ($750)	🇯🇵 Japan ($2,700)
Americas	16	$1,634	🇨🇴 Colombia ($1,000)	🇺🇸 United States ($3,000)
Middle East	8	$1,975	🇯🇴 Jordan ($1,300)	🇮🇱 Israel ($3,550)
Europe	37	$2,159	🇲🇩 Moldova ($950)	🇨🇭 Switzerland ($4,000)
Oceania	4	$2,388	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea ($1,550)	🇦🇺 Australia ($3,350)

Full Index: All 95 Countries

The complete 2026 Cost of Living Index ranks all 95 countries from Egypt (cost index 19, ~$700/month) to Switzerland (cost index 109, ~$4,000/month). Each country includes sub-indexes for groceries, rent, utilities, and transport. Free CSV and JSON downloads available.

Sorted by overall cost index (lowest = cheapest). Monthly estimate calibrated so US (index 82) = ~$3,000/mo for a single person including rent.

#	Country	Region	Cost Index	Est. Monthly	Grocery ↑=cheap	Rent ↑=cheap	Utilities ↑=cheap	Transport ↑=cheap
1	🇪🇬 Egypt	Africa	19	$700	68	93	93	75
2	🇮🇳 India	Asia	21	$750	71	90	90	69
3	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Asia	21	$750	62	93	93	67
4	🇲🇲 Myanmar	Asia	21	$750	71.6	81.78	68.28	62.8
5	🇳🇵 Nepal	Asia	22	$800	67	90	90	57
6	🇷🇼 Rwanda	Africa	22	$800	69	89	89	66
7	🇹🇷 Turkey	Other	23	$850	63	90	90	55
8	🇬🇪 Georgia	Other	23	$850	59	89	89	70
9	🇻🇳 Vietnam	Asia	24	$900	61	87	87	65
10	🇱🇦 Laos	Asia	24	$900	56	88	88	58
11	🇲🇩 Moldova	Europe	26	$950	64	89	89	64
12	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	Asia	26	$950	57	90	90	63
13	🇹🇭 Thailand	Asia	28	$1,000	58	91	91	66
14	🇨🇴 Colombia	Americas	28	$1,000	61	81	81	65
15	🇮🇩 Indonesia	Asia	28	$1,000	55	88	88	69
16	🇲🇾 Malaysia	Asia	29	$1,050	59	89	89	69
17	🇰🇭 Cambodia	Asia	29	$1,050	55	81	81	56
18	🇳🇬 Nigeria	Africa	29	$1,050	50	83	83	69
19	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	Americas	30	$1,100	54	92	92	60
20	🇰🇪 Kenya	Africa	30	$1,100	54	87	87	62
21	🇷🇴 Romania	Europe	31	$1,150	59	78	78	48
22	🇬🇭 Ghana	Africa	31	$1,150	44	84	84	45
23	🇦🇷 Argentina	Americas	32	$1,150	59	87	87	60
24	🇵🇭 Philippines	Asia	32	$1,150	54	81	81	62
25	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	Europe	32	$1,150	53	83	83	50
26	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	32	$1,150	54	87	87	50
27	🇷🇸 Serbia	Europe	33	$1,200	50	82	82	45
28	🇲🇪 Montenegro	Europe	33	$1,200	52	83	83	45
29	🇲🇺 Mauritius	Africa	33	$1,200	48	88	88	64
30	🇦🇱 Albania	Europe	34	$1,250	51	79	79	44
31	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Americas	34	$1,250	54	77	77	65
32	🇵🇱 Poland	Europe	35	$1,300	58	82	82	49
33	🇧🇷 Brazil	Americas	35	$1,300	60	82	82	56
34	🇲🇦 Morocco	Africa	35	$1,300	54	82	82	57
35	🇯🇴 Jordan	Middle East	36	$1,300	50	83	83	54
36	🇹🇳 Tunisia	Africa	36	$1,300	62.6	70.56	67.52	61.76
37	🇪🇨 Ecuador	Americas	37	$1,350	50	83	83	70
38	🇵🇪 Peru	Americas	37	$1,350	55	63	63	63
39	🇲🇽 Mexico	Americas	38	$1,400	50	73	73	53
40	🇲🇳 Mongolia	Asia	38	$1,400	60.8	68.7	56.28	60.88
41	🇭🇺 Hungary	Europe	39	$1,450	50	73	73	45
42	🇿🇦 South Africa	Africa	40	$1,450	56	75	75	51
43	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	Europe	40	$1,450	59	66	61.32	61.12
44	🇭🇷 Croatia	Europe	41	$1,500	43	79	79	42
45	🇱🇹 Lithuania	Europe	42	$1,550	48	77	77	43
46	🇧🇭 Bahrain	Middle East	42	$1,550	40	77	77	65
47	🇴🇲 Oman	Middle East	42	$1,550	45	75	75	69
48	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	Oceania	42	$1,550	57.2	64.86	55.14	50.16
49	🇵🇦 Panama	Americas	43	$1,550	46	76	76	68
50	🇹🇼 Taiwan	Asia	43	$1,550	30	76	76	57
51	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Middle East	43	$1,550	36	84	84	65
52	🇨🇿 Czechia	Europe	44	$1,600	48	64	64	44
53	🇯🇲 Jamaica	Americas	44	$1,600	39	55	55	65
54	🇨🇱 Chile	Americas	45	$1,650	38	68	68	54
55	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Americas	46	$1,700	38	78	78	58
56	🇫🇯 Fiji	Oceania	46	$1,700	53.6	60.42	55.76	51.2
57	🇱🇻 Latvia	Europe	47	$1,700	43	69	69	44
58	🇸🇰 Slovakia	Europe	48	$1,750	44	61	61	41
59	🇨🇳 China	Asia	50	$1,850	35	77	77	59
60	🇺🇾 Uruguay	Americas	52	$1,900	30	66	66	48
61	🇬🇷 Greece	Europe	52	$1,900	38	66	66	37
62	🇪🇪 Estonia	Europe	53	$1,950	43	60	60	38
63	🇰🇼 Kuwait	Middle East	53	$1,950	35	75	75	61
64	🇵🇹 Portugal	Europe	54	$2,000	41	61	61	33
65	🇸🇮 Slovenia	Europe	54	$2,000	42	64	64	39
66	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	Americas	55	$2,000	45.5	49.77	51.16	49.2
67	🇲🇹 Malta	Europe	56	$2,050	32	71	71	39
68	🇨🇾 Cyprus	Europe	58	$2,100	36	63	63	39
69	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	Middle East	59	$2,150	31	66	66	62
70	🇪🇸 Spain	Europe	60	$2,200	43	51	51	34
71	🇶🇦 Qatar	Middle East	60	$2,200	37	48	48	60
72	🇸🇬 Singapore	Asia	61	$2,250	36	55	55	14
73	🇰🇷 South Korea	Asia	62	$2,250	0	64	64	43
74	🇮🇹 Italy	Europe	63	$2,300	38	52	52	29
75	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	Asia	64	$2,350	16	55	55	36
76	🇫🇷 France	Europe	67	$2,450	36	42	42	23
77	🇩🇪 Germany	Europe	68	$2,500	39	44	44	24
78	🇦🇹 Austria	Europe	72	$2,650	37	47	47	24
79	🇧🇪 Belgium	Europe	72	$2,650	38	41	41	25
80	🇯🇵 Japan	Asia	74	$2,700	4	41	41	25
81	🇳🇱 Netherlands	Europe	75	$2,750	43	35	35	17
82	🇨🇦 Canada	Americas	78	$2,850	27	33	33	36
83	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Europe	79	$2,900	45	20	20	20
84	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Oceania	80	$2,950	30	3	3	34
85	🇫🇮 Finland	Europe	80	$2,950	34	34	34	18
86	🇺🇸 United States	Americas	82	$3,000	42	28	28	42
87	🇸🇪 Sweden	Europe	84	$3,050	31	38	38	7
88	🇩🇰 Denmark	Europe	88	$3,200	30	14	14	11
89	🇦🇺 Australia	Oceania	91	$3,350	26	14	14	32
90	🇮🇪 Ireland	Europe	91	$3,350	30	7	7	22
91	🇳🇴 Norway	Europe	95	$3,500	13	40	40	7
92	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	Europe	95	$3,500	27	9	9	30
93	🇮🇱 Israel	Middle East	97	$3,550	5	10	10	15
94	🇮🇸 Iceland	Europe	99	$3,600	19	27	27	9
95	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Europe	109	$4,000	3	4	4	15

Methodology

The WhereNext Cost of Living Index 2026 is built on the World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 cycle — public-domain data covering 176 economies and 45 expenditure headings. We use ICP Price Level Indices (PLI, World = 100, higher = more expensive) and rebase the United States to cost_index 82, calibrating monthly cost estimates to a US $3,000/month single-person living baseline.

The methodology is intentionally simple, fully reproducible, and traceable to one primary public source for every cost number:

Overall cost_index uses the ICP Actual Individual Consumption Price Level Index (basic heading 9020000), rebased so US = 82. Formula: round(country_AIC_PLI × 82 / US_AIC_PLI) where US_AIC_PLI ≈ 159 (World = 100).
Monthly USD estimate: round((cost_index / 82) × $3,000) rounded to the nearest $50. The US baseline corresponds to a single-person household including rent.
Sub-indexes use ICP basic-heading PLIs:
- Groceries → 1101000 Food and non-alcoholic beverages
- Rent / utilities → 9060000 Actual housing, water, electricity, gas
- Transport → 1107000 Transport
Each PLI is mapped to a 0-100 affordability score via round(clamp(100 - PLI/2, 0, 100)) so World average ≈ 50, very expensive (PLI ≥ 200) → 0, and very affordable (PLI ≤ 20) → 90.
Note on sub-index combination: ICP heading 9060000 combines housing rentals and utilities into one PLI; we apply it to both rent_cost_index and utilities_cost_index. ICP does not publish a separate household housing-purchase price level (that lives under Gross Fixed Capital Formation construction headings), so housing_purchase_index reuses the same housing PLI as the closest comparable proxy.
Coverage: 89 of 95 countries have ICP 2021 AIC PLI data. The 6 without it (Fiji, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia) fall back to a hand-tuned legacy value with a lower confidence_score.
Important caveat — national averages, not expat averages: ICP price levels reflect the whole-population household basket, which in some economies (notably Singapore, Hong Kong) includes substantial publicly-subsidised housing that pulls the national price level below what a market-rent expat household would face. For city-level expat cost estimates, see the per-city overrides under src/lib/data/city-specific-data.ts and the interactive comparison at /tools/cost-of-living.
Confidence scoring: A 0-1 score derived from which authoritative datasets cover each country: World Bank ICP 2021 (cost), UNDP HDI (development), IEP Global Peace Index (safety), OECD PISA (education), EF EPI (English proficiency). Maximum 0.92, minimum 0.50.

Data Sources

Primary cost data: World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 — 176 economies, 45 expenditure headings, public-domain. Supplementary inputs feed the confidence score and per-country profiles.

✓World Bank ICP 2021 Price Level Indices (primary)

✓World Bank API source 90 (machine-readable)

✓UNDP Human Development Index

✓Institute for Economics & Peace — Global Peace Index

✓OECD PISA (education quality)

✓EF English Proficiency Index

✓City-level overrides — World Bank, national statistical agencies

✓City-level overrides — Speedtest.net (internet speeds)

✓City-level overrides — Coworker.com (coworking pricing)

✓Wikipedia (population, geographic metadata)

ICP 2021 PLI data pulled 2026-04-27 from the World Bank ICP DataBank API (source 90), cached in src/lib/data/icp-2021-pli.ts in this repository. Each value is the country's ICP price level index (World = 100) for the cited basic heading.

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Suggested Citation

WhereNext. "Cheapest Countries to Live in 2026: Cost of Living Index for 95 Countries." getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026. Published 2026-04-27.

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Beyond Cost: The Full Picture

Cost of living is only one of 7 dimensions in a relocation decision. The WhereNext 2026 Global Relocation Index combines cost with safety, healthcare quality, education, career opportunity, lifestyle appeal, and infrastructure into a single composite score for 95 countries, providing the complete picture for expats and families planning a move abroad.

Cost of living is one piece of the puzzle. Our 2026 Global Relocation Index ranks 95 countries across 7 dimensions — cost, safety, healthcare, education, career opportunity, lifestyle, and infrastructure — to give you the complete picture.

View Global Relocation Index →

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Cost of Living Calculator →Budget Builder →Salary Calculator →FIRE Calculator →City Cost Compare →Dual Life Planner →

How to cite this data:

WhereNext. "Cost of Living Index 2026." getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026. Accessed 2026-04-02.

Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to use with attribution.

Explore the Data

WhereNext provides 6 free interactive tools to explore cost-of-living data: a 95-country comparison calculator, a 380-city cost compare tool, a salary and PPP calculator, a budget builder, a FIRE retirement calculator, and a dual-life planner — all powered by the same 27-source dataset behind this index.

Cost of Living Tool

Interactive comparison across all 95 countries

City Cost Compare

Compare 380 cities with real price data

Salary & PPP Calculator

See what your income buys in each country

Cheapest Countries Ranking

Full ranking with quality-of-life scores

Budget Builder

Build a budget for any destination

FIRE Calculator

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Suggested citation

CC BY 4.0

This dataset is free to redistribute, quote, and embed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The composite form below preserves source lineage so AI assistants can cite both WhereNext and the underlying institutional publishers.

WhereNext composite (lineage)

WhereNext composite — Cost of Living Index 2026 (2026-04-21). Derived from: World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 Price Level Indices; WhereNext composite cost index. Available at https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

APA

WhereNext. (2026). Cost of Living Index 2026. Retrieved from https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

MLA

WhereNext. "Cost of Living Index 2026." WhereNext, 21 Apr 2026, https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. Accessed via https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

BibTeX

@misc{wherenext_getwherenext_com_data_cost_of_living_2026,
  author = {{WhereNext}},
  title = {Cost of Living Index 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

HTML link

<a href="https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation">WhereNext &mdash; Cost of Living Index 2026</a>

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest country to live in 2026?

Based on the WhereNext Cost of Living Index, the cheapest country to live in 2026 is the top-ranked country in this page's table — ranked from 95 countries using World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 Price Level Indices for Actual Individual Consumption (basic heading 9020000). Monthly cost estimates are calibrated so the United States ICP price level (AIC PLI ≈ 159 vs World = 100) corresponds to ~$3,000/month for a single-person household including rent, rounded to the nearest $50.

How is the WhereNext cost of living comparison calculated?

WhereNext rebases the World Bank ICP 2021 Actual Individual Consumption Price Level Index (World = 100) so that the United States = 82, then converts to a monthly USD estimate at $3,000/82 per index point. Four sub-indexes (food, housing+utilities, transport, and a derived housing-purchase proxy) come from ICP basic-heading PLIs: 1101000 Food and non-alcoholic beverages; 9060000 Actual housing, water, electricity, gas; 1107000 Transport. Each PLI is mapped to a 0-100 affordability score (higher = more affordable) so World average ≈ 50.

Where does the data come from?

Primary source: World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 cycle, public-domain data covering 176 economies and 45 expenditure headings, downloaded from the World Bank ICP DataBank API (source 90). For confidence scoring, supplementary data: UNDP Human Development Index, Institute for Economics & Peace Global Peace Index, OECD PISA, and EF English Proficiency Index. City-level overrides for ~50 metro areas use World Bank, national statistical agencies, Speedtest.net, Coworker.com, and Wikipedia (cited per-city). A small number of countries lack ICP 2021 PLI coverage and use a hand-tuned fallback documented in the methodology, which names them and carries a lower confidence_score.

Is the WhereNext cost of living data free?

Yes. All 95 country records, the downloadable CSV, the JSON API, and the interactive comparison tools are free with no account required. The dataset is licensed under CC BY 4.0 — you can share, adapt, and build on it with attribution. Underlying World Bank ICP 2021 data is itself public-domain.

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Related open datasets

Every WhereNext dataset is free to download, embed, and cite (CC BY 4.0).

Retirement Tax Map 2026Destination reference table joining US Social Security totalization, independently verified treaty-tax positions, special expat or retiree regimes, and covered tax-residency triggers. Reference data only, CC BY 4.0.Retirement Abroad Index 2026Retirement-specific ranking using affordability, healthcare, safety, lifestyle/climate, and verified visa accessibility, with clearly separate value and safety lenses. CC BY 4.0.Retirement Budget Breakdowns 2026Itemized monthly retirement budget ranges for five complete corridor countries, with seven named line items, declared registry totals, explicit US solo and modeled couple baselines, and disclosed exclusions. Modeled reference data, CC BY 4.0.Quality of Life Index 202695-country pure quality-of-life ranking derived from existing WhereNext normalized safety, healthcare, lifestyle/climate, and infrastructure metrics, plus a separate cost-adjusted view. CC BY 4.0.Best Value Cities 2026Deduped city quality-versus-cost quadrant using percentile ranks from existing city safety, healthcare, education, transport/infrastructure, career, and ICP-anchored cost inputs. CC BY 4.0 JSON and CSV.Global Relocation Index 2026Composite ranking of 95 countries across cost, safety, healthcare, education, career, lifestyle, and infrastructure — scored using public-domain datasets (World Bank ICP, UNDP HDI, IEP GPI, OECD PISA, EF EPI, Eurostat). Free CSV/JSON export, CC BY 4.0.

Data Report

Cost of Living by Country 2026: 95 Countries Ranked for Expats

Built on World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 data. Free, CC BY 4.0. Updated 2026-04-27. See what changed →

Data refreshed:4 months ago

Press headline · permalink

Monthly living costs for a single expat vary by more than 5× across the 95 countries in the WhereNext 2026 dataset — from under $800/month in South and Southeast Asia to over $3,500 in the most expensive Western European destinations

At a glance

Cheapest country: Egypt · ~$700/mo
Global median: $1,550/mo (Papua New Guinea)
Most expensive: Switzerland · ~$4,000/mo
Coverage: 95 countries · 4 sub-indexes
Source: World Bank ICP 2021 PLI — CC BY 4.0

Data refreshed 2026-04-27

Compare my costs

Quick answer

Key facts

#1 cheapest: Egypt ~$700/mo single-person all-in cost.
Global median: $1,550/mo the 50th-percentile country (Papua New Guinea) — half of countries are cheaper, half are pricier.
Asia regional avg $1,337/mo across all Asian countries we cover — the lowest-cost continent.
Europe regional avg $2,159/mo across all European countries we cover.
World Bank ICP 2021 data source — Price Level Indices for Actual Individual Consumption (PLI-AIC), the canonical citable cross-country price measure.

Healthcare costs by country — top destinations vs US

Five common line items. Grey bar = US median; primary-green = destination median; amber appears only when the destination is MORE expensive than the US (rare for healthcare).

Verified 2026-05-24 · WhereNext healthcare-cost dataset

Private ins./mo

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

GP visit

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

Specialist visit

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

ER visit

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

Dental cleaning

🇵🇹 PT

🇪🇸 ES

🇲🇽 MX

🇹🇭 TH

🇵🇭 PH

US baseline (median)Destination cheaper than USDestination MORE expensive than US

Healthcare cost comparison: median values per line item per country vs US baseline.
Line item	Country	Local range	US median	Delta
Private ins./mo	🇵🇹 Portugal	$56-$104	$500	−$420
Private ins./mo	🇪🇸 Spain	$70-$130	$500	−$400
Private ins./mo	🇲🇽 Mexico	$56-$104	$500	−$420
Private ins./mo	🇹🇭 Thailand	$70-$130	$500	−$400
Private ins./mo	🇵🇭 Philippines	$28-$52	$500	−$460
GP visit	🇵🇹 Portugal	$45-$90	$225	−$157
GP visit	🇪🇸 Spain	$40-$75	$225	−$167
GP visit	🇲🇽 Mexico	$25-$45	$225	−$190
GP visit	🇹🇭 Thailand	$25-$45	$225	−$190
GP visit	🇵🇭 Philippines	$10-$25	$225	−$207
Specialist visit	🇵🇹 Portugal	$75-$150	$375	−$262
Specialist visit	🇪🇸 Spain	$65-$125	$375	−$280
Specialist visit	🇲🇽 Mexico	$40-$75	$375	−$317
Specialist visit	🇹🇭 Thailand	$40-$75	$375	−$317
Specialist visit	🇵🇭 Philippines	$20-$40	$375	−$345
ER visit	🇵🇹 Portugal	$360-$750	$1.9K	−$1.3K
ER visit	🇪🇸 Spain	$300-$625	$1.9K	−$1.4K
ER visit	🇲🇽 Mexico	$180-$375	$1.9K	−$1.6K
ER visit	🇹🇭 Thailand	$180-$375	$1.9K	−$1.6K
ER visit	🇵🇭 Philippines	$95-$200	$1.9K	−$1.7K
Dental cleaning	🇵🇹 Portugal	$30-$60	$150	−$105
Dental cleaning	🇪🇸 Spain	$25-$50	$150	−$112
Dental cleaning	🇲🇽 Mexico	$15-$30	$150	−$127
Dental cleaning	🇹🇭 Thailand	$15-$30	$150	−$127
Dental cleaning	🇵🇭 Philippines	$10-$15	$150	−$137

Cost of living by region

Average single-person monthly cost per region, with each region's cheapest-to-priciest range.

Verified 2026-04-27 · World Bank ICP 2021

Other

$850

Africa

$1,117

Asia

$1,337

Americas

$1,634

Middle East

$1,975

Europe

$2,159

Oceania

$2,388

Bar = regional average · line = cheapest→priciest country in the region · single-person all-in monthly cost.

Average monthly cost of living by region, with cheapest and priciest country
Region	Avg / mo	Cheapest	Priciest	Countries
Other	$850	Turkey ($850)	Turkey ($850)	2
Africa	$1,117	Egypt ($700)	South Africa ($1,450)	9
Asia	$1,337	India ($750)	Japan ($2,700)	19
Americas	$1,634	Colombia ($1,000)	United States ($3,000)	16
Middle East	$1,975	Jordan ($1,300)	Israel ($3,550)	8
Europe	$2,159	Moldova ($950)	Switzerland ($4,000)	37
Oceania	$2,388	Papua New Guinea ($1,550)	Australia ($3,350)	4

Cheapest countries to live in 2026

#1🇪🇬 Egypt~$700/mo · index 19
#2🇮🇳 India~$750/mo · index 21
#3🇱🇰 Sri Lanka~$750/mo · index 21
#4🇲🇲 Myanmar~$750/mo · index 21
#5🇳🇵 Nepal~$800/mo · index 22

Most affordable cities for expats in 2026

#1Da Nang~$450/mo · quality 63/100
#2Chiang Mai~$550/mo · quality 59/100
#3Ho Chi Minh City~$650/mo · quality 60/100
#4Medellin~$650/mo · quality 60/100
#5Hanoi~$750/mo · quality 61/100
#6Sofia~$750/mo · quality 60/100
#7Buenos Aires~$750/mo · quality 59/100
#8Belgrade~$800/mo · quality 60/100
#9Merida~$800/mo · quality 58/100
#10Batumi~$800/mo · quality 55/100

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Embed our cost-of-living data on your website, access it via API, or cite it in your research. WhereNext's composite scores are free to cite with attribution.

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API Endpoints

/api/data/cost-of-living/api/data/cost-of-living/csv

Cite As

WhereNext Cost of Living Index 2026, getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026

Free to cite with attribution

By the Numbers

Countries Analyzed

Across 6 regions

Cheapest Country

$700/mo

🇪🇬 Egypt

Most Expensive

$4,000/mo

🇨🇭 Switzerland

Global Average

$1,774/mo

Median: $1,550/mo

Regional Cost Comparison

Average estimated monthly cost for a single person, by region. Includes rent, food, transport, and utilities.

Region	Countries	Avg Cost	Cheapest	Most Expensive
Other	2	$850	🇹🇷 Turkey ($850)	🇹🇷 Turkey ($850)
Africa	9	$1,117	🇪🇬 Egypt ($700)	🇿🇦 South Africa ($1,450)
Asia	19	$1,337	🇮🇳 India ($750)	🇯🇵 Japan ($2,700)
Americas	16	$1,634	🇨🇴 Colombia ($1,000)	🇺🇸 United States ($3,000)
Middle East	8	$1,975	🇯🇴 Jordan ($1,300)	🇮🇱 Israel ($3,550)
Europe	37	$2,159	🇲🇩 Moldova ($950)	🇨🇭 Switzerland ($4,000)
Oceania	4	$2,388	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea ($1,550)	🇦🇺 Australia ($3,350)

Full Index: All 95 Countries

Sorted by overall cost index (lowest = cheapest). Monthly estimate calibrated so US (index 82) = ~$3,000/mo for a single person including rent.

#	Country	Region	Cost Index	Est. Monthly	Grocery ↑=cheap	Rent ↑=cheap	Utilities ↑=cheap	Transport ↑=cheap
1	🇪🇬 Egypt	Africa	19	$700	68	93	93	75
2	🇮🇳 India	Asia	21	$750	71	90	90	69
3	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Asia	21	$750	62	93	93	67
4	🇲🇲 Myanmar	Asia	21	$750	71.6	81.78	68.28	62.8
5	🇳🇵 Nepal	Asia	22	$800	67	90	90	57
6	🇷🇼 Rwanda	Africa	22	$800	69	89	89	66
7	🇹🇷 Turkey	Other	23	$850	63	90	90	55
8	🇬🇪 Georgia	Other	23	$850	59	89	89	70
9	🇻🇳 Vietnam	Asia	24	$900	61	87	87	65
10	🇱🇦 Laos	Asia	24	$900	56	88	88	58
11	🇲🇩 Moldova	Europe	26	$950	64	89	89	64
12	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	Asia	26	$950	57	90	90	63
13	🇹🇭 Thailand	Asia	28	$1,000	58	91	91	66
14	🇨🇴 Colombia	Americas	28	$1,000	61	81	81	65
15	🇮🇩 Indonesia	Asia	28	$1,000	55	88	88	69
16	🇲🇾 Malaysia	Asia	29	$1,050	59	89	89	69
17	🇰🇭 Cambodia	Asia	29	$1,050	55	81	81	56
18	🇳🇬 Nigeria	Africa	29	$1,050	50	83	83	69
19	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	Americas	30	$1,100	54	92	92	60
20	🇰🇪 Kenya	Africa	30	$1,100	54	87	87	62
21	🇷🇴 Romania	Europe	31	$1,150	59	78	78	48
22	🇬🇭 Ghana	Africa	31	$1,150	44	84	84	45
23	🇦🇷 Argentina	Americas	32	$1,150	59	87	87	60
24	🇵🇭 Philippines	Asia	32	$1,150	54	81	81	62
25	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	Europe	32	$1,150	53	83	83	50
26	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	32	$1,150	54	87	87	50
27	🇷🇸 Serbia	Europe	33	$1,200	50	82	82	45
28	🇲🇪 Montenegro	Europe	33	$1,200	52	83	83	45
29	🇲🇺 Mauritius	Africa	33	$1,200	48	88	88	64
30	🇦🇱 Albania	Europe	34	$1,250	51	79	79	44
31	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Americas	34	$1,250	54	77	77	65
32	🇵🇱 Poland	Europe	35	$1,300	58	82	82	49
33	🇧🇷 Brazil	Americas	35	$1,300	60	82	82	56
34	🇲🇦 Morocco	Africa	35	$1,300	54	82	82	57
35	🇯🇴 Jordan	Middle East	36	$1,300	50	83	83	54
36	🇹🇳 Tunisia	Africa	36	$1,300	62.6	70.56	67.52	61.76
37	🇪🇨 Ecuador	Americas	37	$1,350	50	83	83	70
38	🇵🇪 Peru	Americas	37	$1,350	55	63	63	63
39	🇲🇽 Mexico	Americas	38	$1,400	50	73	73	53
40	🇲🇳 Mongolia	Asia	38	$1,400	60.8	68.7	56.28	60.88
41	🇭🇺 Hungary	Europe	39	$1,450	50	73	73	45
42	🇿🇦 South Africa	Africa	40	$1,450	56	75	75	51
43	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	Europe	40	$1,450	59	66	61.32	61.12
44	🇭🇷 Croatia	Europe	41	$1,500	43	79	79	42
45	🇱🇹 Lithuania	Europe	42	$1,550	48	77	77	43
46	🇧🇭 Bahrain	Middle East	42	$1,550	40	77	77	65
47	🇴🇲 Oman	Middle East	42	$1,550	45	75	75	69
48	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	Oceania	42	$1,550	57.2	64.86	55.14	50.16
49	🇵🇦 Panama	Americas	43	$1,550	46	76	76	68
50	🇹🇼 Taiwan	Asia	43	$1,550	30	76	76	57
51	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Middle East	43	$1,550	36	84	84	65
52	🇨🇿 Czechia	Europe	44	$1,600	48	64	64	44
53	🇯🇲 Jamaica	Americas	44	$1,600	39	55	55	65
54	🇨🇱 Chile	Americas	45	$1,650	38	68	68	54
55	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Americas	46	$1,700	38	78	78	58
56	🇫🇯 Fiji	Oceania	46	$1,700	53.6	60.42	55.76	51.2
57	🇱🇻 Latvia	Europe	47	$1,700	43	69	69	44
58	🇸🇰 Slovakia	Europe	48	$1,750	44	61	61	41
59	🇨🇳 China	Asia	50	$1,850	35	77	77	59
60	🇺🇾 Uruguay	Americas	52	$1,900	30	66	66	48
61	🇬🇷 Greece	Europe	52	$1,900	38	66	66	37
62	🇪🇪 Estonia	Europe	53	$1,950	43	60	60	38
63	🇰🇼 Kuwait	Middle East	53	$1,950	35	75	75	61
64	🇵🇹 Portugal	Europe	54	$2,000	41	61	61	33
65	🇸🇮 Slovenia	Europe	54	$2,000	42	64	64	39
66	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	Americas	55	$2,000	45.5	49.77	51.16	49.2
67	🇲🇹 Malta	Europe	56	$2,050	32	71	71	39
68	🇨🇾 Cyprus	Europe	58	$2,100	36	63	63	39
69	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	Middle East	59	$2,150	31	66	66	62
70	🇪🇸 Spain	Europe	60	$2,200	43	51	51	34
71	🇶🇦 Qatar	Middle East	60	$2,200	37	48	48	60
72	🇸🇬 Singapore	Asia	61	$2,250	36	55	55	14
73	🇰🇷 South Korea	Asia	62	$2,250	0	64	64	43
74	🇮🇹 Italy	Europe	63	$2,300	38	52	52	29
75	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	Asia	64	$2,350	16	55	55	36
76	🇫🇷 France	Europe	67	$2,450	36	42	42	23
77	🇩🇪 Germany	Europe	68	$2,500	39	44	44	24
78	🇦🇹 Austria	Europe	72	$2,650	37	47	47	24
79	🇧🇪 Belgium	Europe	72	$2,650	38	41	41	25
80	🇯🇵 Japan	Asia	74	$2,700	4	41	41	25
81	🇳🇱 Netherlands	Europe	75	$2,750	43	35	35	17
82	🇨🇦 Canada	Americas	78	$2,850	27	33	33	36
83	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Europe	79	$2,900	45	20	20	20
84	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Oceania	80	$2,950	30	3	3	34
85	🇫🇮 Finland	Europe	80	$2,950	34	34	34	18
86	🇺🇸 United States	Americas	82	$3,000	42	28	28	42
87	🇸🇪 Sweden	Europe	84	$3,050	31	38	38	7
88	🇩🇰 Denmark	Europe	88	$3,200	30	14	14	11
89	🇦🇺 Australia	Oceania	91	$3,350	26	14	14	32
90	🇮🇪 Ireland	Europe	91	$3,350	30	7	7	22
91	🇳🇴 Norway	Europe	95	$3,500	13	40	40	7
92	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	Europe	95	$3,500	27	9	9	30
93	🇮🇱 Israel	Middle East	97	$3,550	5	10	10	15
94	🇮🇸 Iceland	Europe	99	$3,600	19	27	27	9
95	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Europe	109	$4,000	3	4	4	15

Methodology

The methodology is intentionally simple, fully reproducible, and traceable to one primary public source for every cost number:

Overall cost_index uses the ICP Actual Individual Consumption Price Level Index (basic heading 9020000), rebased so US = 82. Formula: round(country_AIC_PLI × 82 / US_AIC_PLI) where US_AIC_PLI ≈ 159 (World = 100).
Monthly USD estimate: round((cost_index / 82) × $3,000) rounded to the nearest $50. The US baseline corresponds to a single-person household including rent.
Sub-indexes use ICP basic-heading PLIs:
- Groceries → 1101000 Food and non-alcoholic beverages
- Rent / utilities → 9060000 Actual housing, water, electricity, gas
- Transport → 1107000 Transport
Each PLI is mapped to a 0-100 affordability score via round(clamp(100 - PLI/2, 0, 100)) so World average ≈ 50, very expensive (PLI ≥ 200) → 0, and very affordable (PLI ≤ 20) → 90.
Note on sub-index combination: ICP heading 9060000 combines housing rentals and utilities into one PLI; we apply it to both rent_cost_index and utilities_cost_index. ICP does not publish a separate household housing-purchase price level (that lives under Gross Fixed Capital Formation construction headings), so housing_purchase_index reuses the same housing PLI as the closest comparable proxy.
Coverage: 89 of 95 countries have ICP 2021 AIC PLI data. The 6 without it (Fiji, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia) fall back to a hand-tuned legacy value with a lower confidence_score.
Important caveat — national averages, not expat averages: ICP price levels reflect the whole-population household basket, which in some economies (notably Singapore, Hong Kong) includes substantial publicly-subsidised housing that pulls the national price level below what a market-rent expat household would face. For city-level expat cost estimates, see the per-city overrides under src/lib/data/city-specific-data.ts and the interactive comparison at /tools/cost-of-living.
Confidence scoring: A 0-1 score derived from which authoritative datasets cover each country: World Bank ICP 2021 (cost), UNDP HDI (development), IEP Global Peace Index (safety), OECD PISA (education), EF EPI (English proficiency). Maximum 0.92, minimum 0.50.

Data Sources

✓World Bank ICP 2021 Price Level Indices (primary)

✓World Bank API source 90 (machine-readable)

✓UNDP Human Development Index

✓Institute for Economics & Peace — Global Peace Index

✓OECD PISA (education quality)

✓EF English Proficiency Index

✓City-level overrides — World Bank, national statistical agencies

✓City-level overrides — Speedtest.net (internet speeds)

✓City-level overrides — Coworker.com (coworking pricing)

✓Wikipedia (population, geographic metadata)

Cite This Data

Suggested Citation

WhereNext. "Cheapest Countries to Live in 2026: Cost of Living Index for 95 Countries." getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026. Published 2026-04-27.

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WhereNext. "Cost of Living Index 2026." getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026. Accessed 2026-04-02.

Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to use with attribution.

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Suggested citation

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WhereNext composite (lineage)

WhereNext composite — Cost of Living Index 2026 (2026-04-21). Derived from: World Bank International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 Price Level Indices; WhereNext composite cost index. Available at https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

APA

WhereNext. (2026). Cost of Living Index 2026. Retrieved from https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

MLA

WhereNext. "Cost of Living Index 2026." WhereNext, 21 Apr 2026, https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. Accessed via https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.

BibTeX

@misc{wherenext_getwherenext_com_data_cost_of_living_2026,
  author = {{WhereNext}},
  title = {Cost of Living Index 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

HTML link

<a href="https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation">WhereNext &mdash; Cost of Living Index 2026</a>