High GDP per capita and a high cost of living often go hand in hand, but not always in the same order. Here are the countries with the highest cost of living in the world today.
The Most Expensive Countries to Live In
- Switzerland — consistently ranked among the most expensive countries in the world, with notably high costs for housing, groceries, and healthcare
- Singapore — extremely high housing and vehicle-ownership costs, offset partly by low taxes
- Monaco — among the highest cost of living anywhere, driven by extreme real estate prices in one of the smallest countries in the world
- Iceland — high costs driven by its remote location and reliance on imports
- Norway and Denmark — both consistently rank among the most expensive countries in Europe
- Bermuda and the Cayman Islands — small island economies with very high import and housing costs
See GDP per capita for any of these countries on our Rankings page.
What Drives a High Cost of Living
Several factors consistently push a country toward the top of cost-of-living rankings: limited land available for housing (especially true for small, dense nations), heavy reliance on imported goods, high wages that raise the cost of labor-intensive services, and, in some cases, currency strength that makes everything more expensive in dollar terms. Switzerland and Norway both combine several of these factors at once.
High Cost of Living vs. High GDP Per Capita
These two measures are related but distinct. A country can have a high GDP per capita — like Ireland, discussed in our GDP per capita ranking — without necessarily having an equally high cost of living, since wages, income taxes, and everyday prices don’t always move together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most expensive country to live in?
Switzerland and Singapore are consistently ranked among the most expensive countries in the world to live in.
Why is Switzerland so expensive?
High wages, a strong currency, limited housing supply, and heavy reliance on imports all contribute to Switzerland’s consistently high cost of living.
Is a high cost of living always a bad thing?
Not necessarily — it often correlates with high wages and strong public services, so the key question is whether income keeps pace with expenses, not the raw cost level alone.
Compare GDP and economic data for any country using our Compare tool.
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