WhereNext Open Data

Global Food Prices by Country 2026

Monthly per-person grocery basket cost across 69 countries, computed from four staple food items (milk, eggs, chicken, rice) in USD. The widest country coverage of any WhereNext open dataset — useful for relocation cost screening, arbitrage research, and academic comparisons.

CC BY 4.0Updated Jan 202669 countries4 staple itemsSee what changed →

Press headline · permalink

A monthly grocery basket costs more than 5× as much in Switzerland as in Indonesia, across 69 countries surveyed by WhereNext in 2026

Copy with attribution: “A monthly grocery basket costs more than 5× as much in Switzerland as in Indonesia, across 69 countries surveyed by WhereNext in 2026” — WhereNext, as of 2026-04-07

Quick answer

Across 69 countries, the cheapest monthly per-person staple basket is Bangladesh at $18/mo; the most expensive is Switzerland at $98/mo. The global median is Czechia at $41/mo. The basket is computed from 4 staple items (milk, eggs, chicken, rice) at retail prices in USD — a simple, transparent grocery-cost proxy for relocation cost screening. Data sourced and verified at retail level, updated January 2026.

Key facts

69 countries indexed widest country coverage of any WhereNext open dataset.
Cheapest: Bangladesh $18/mo monthly per-person staple basket.
Median: Czechia $41/mo — the 50th-percentile country.
Most expensive: Switzerland $98/mo basket cost.
Methodology 4 staple items (milk · eggs · chicken · rice) at retail USD prices · simple, transparent, replicable. CC BY 4.0.

Cheapest basket

$18/mo

Bangladesh

Median basket

$41/mo

Czechia (rank #35)

Most expensive

$98/mo

Switzerland

#	Country	Milk 1L	Eggs/doz	Chicken 1kg	Rice 1kg	Basket/mo
1	Bangladesh	$0.86	$1.55	$2.33	$0.61	$18
2	Brazil	$1.51	$2.32	$1.94	$1.36	$24
3	Indonesia	$1.50	$1.83	$3.08	$0.87	$25
4	Egypt	$0.98	$1.55	$4.15	$0.79	$27
5	Argentina	$1.40	$2.00	$3.20	$1.50	$28
6	Ecuador	$1.11	$2.33	$3.60	$1.20	$28
7	India	$0.81	$1.94	$3.72	$1.61	$28
8	Turkey	$1.79	$2.50	$2.69	$1.68	$30
9	Dominican Republic	$1.39	$1.98	$3.05	$2.00	$30
10	Thailand	$1.80	$2.54	$3.36	$1.08	$30
11	Tunisia	$0.46	$2.01	$3.36	$2.74	$30
12	Peru	$2.13	$2.55	$2.74	$1.69	$31
13	Philippines	$1.75	$2.28	$3.58	$1.38	$31
14	Azerbaijan	$1.53	$1.80	$4.12	$1.82	$33
15	Hungary	$1.10	$3.56	$2.78	$2.81	$34
16	Mexico	$2.03	$3.10	$3.32	$1.69	$34
17	Jordan	$1.41	$2.54	$3.53	$2.26	$34
18	South Africa	$1.24	$3.16	$4.15	$1.54	$34
19	Ireland	$1.55	$4.72	$3.58	$1.38	$35
20	Colombia	$1.81	$2.80	$4.39	$1.19	$35
21	Malaysia	$1.64	$2.56	$2.71	$3.10	$35
22	Vietnam	$1.60	$2.10	$4.94	$1.09	$35
23	Kenya	$1.11	$1.88	$4.84	$1.81	$35
24	Croatia	$1.72	$3.39	$3.81	$1.85	$36
25	Guatemala	$2.20	$1.89	$3.96	$2.03	$37
26	Kazakhstan	$1.95	$1.77	$3.38	$2.99	$37
27	Romania	$1.40	$4.10	$4.12	$1.86	$38
28	Sri Lanka	$1.65	$1.72	$4.77	$2.30	$38
29	Spain	$1.33	$3.75	$4.50	$1.96	$39
30	Kuwait	$1.52	$2.20	$5.82	$1.29	$39
31	Portugal	$1.15	$3.57	$5.19	$1.96	$40
32	Poland	$0.89	$3.89	$5.41	$1.78	$40
33	Serbia	$1.57	$2.54	$2.85	$4.38	$40
34	Costa Rica	$2.33	$1.90	$4.20	$2.50	$40
35	Czechia	$1.64	$5.08	$4.23	$1.88	$41
36	China	$2.03	$2.27	$5.81	$1.22	$41
37	Morocco	$1.51	$3.46	$5.04	$2.08	$41
38	United Kingdom	$2.32	$4.77	$3.97	$1.72	$42
39	Chile	$1.47	$3.93	$4.90	$2.50	$43
40	Nigeria	$1.70	$2.64	$5.98	$1.70	$43
41	Slovakia	$1.14	$4.14	$4.85	$3.00	$44
42	Saudi Arabia	$1.58	$2.34	$5.86	$2.64	$45
43	Latvia	$1.03	$4.00	$5.65	$2.77	$46
44	Slovenia	$1.37	$2.90	$6.92	$2.08	$47
45	Australia	$2.11	$6.91	$4.50	$2.21	$49
46	Greece	$2.17	$4.51	$5.77	$2.54	$51
47	United Arab Emirates	$1.81	$2.72	$7.49	$2.45	$52
48	New Zealand	$1.42	$6.85	$5.60	$2.80	$53
49	Lithuania	$1.60	$4.14	$7.39	$3.46	$58
50	France	$1.53	$4.21	$9.12	$2.08	$59
51	Ghana	$4.09	$4.54	$6.18	$2.72	$61
52	Netherlands	$1.49	$3.40	$9.58	$2.65	$62
53	Canada	$2.34	$2.82	$8.63	$3.02	$62
54	Uruguay	$1.13	$6.19	$8.39	$2.76	$62
55	Hong Kong	$3.17	$4.71	$8.03	$1.86	$62
56	Austria	$2.07	$4.84	$9.23	$1.96	$63
57	Japan	$1.82	$2.93	$7.30	$5.37	$64
58	South Korea	$3.42	$3.04	$7.39	$3.85	$65
59	Singapore	$3.02	$2.66	$10.66	$1.17	$65
60	Sweden	$1.34	$4.95	$9.42	$3.17	$66
61	Italy	$1.95	$4.59	$8.42	$4.04	$67
62	Israel	$3.15	$4.17	$7.91	$3.50	$67
63	Finland	$1.44	$3.77	$11.42	$2.65	$70
64	Belgium	$2.83	$4.95	$10.16	$2.08	$70
65	Norway	$2.32	$6.85	$9.79	$2.73	$73
66	Denmark	$2.24	$4.85	$13.19	$1.85	$79
67	United States	$3.31	$4.62	$9.90	$4.60	$80
68	Germany	$2.07	$4.56	$15.58	$3.00	$92
69	Switzerland	$2.44	$7.97	$14.41	$3.63	$98

Methodology

All prices are January 2026 retail averages, converted to USD at the period spot rate.
The four staple items were chosen for cross-country comparability: 2% milk (1L), fresh eggs (1 dozen), chicken meat (1kg, bone-in retail), and white rice (1kg).
The monthly per-person basket is computed as 4 milk + 2 eggs + 4 chicken + 4 rice — a directional staple basket, not a complete grocery budget. Vegetables, fruit, condiments, prepared foods, and household items are excluded.
Use these numbers as a comparable cross-country signal, not as your actual monthly grocery spend. Real grocery bills run 2-4x the staple basket depending on diet, brand preferences, and household size.
Country coverage is the intersection of items present in all four source rankings; countries with any missing item were excluded.

Source: globalproductprices.com January 2026 country rankings. Full methodology

Comparing two specific countries?

Staple groceries are one piece. Add visa friction, taxes, healthcare, schools, and housing for the full picture — that's what the WhereNext Relocation Decision Plan delivers.

Get the Decision Plan — $29 See sample report →

How to cite this data:

WhereNext. "Global Food Prices by Country 2026." getwherenext.com/data/global-food-prices-2026. Accessed 2026-04-07.

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

← All open data Cost of living data →Expat tax rates →