Explore the cheapest countries to live in, by the World Bank's price level against the US, with tax, residency and safety.
Ranked by the World Bank's price level, everyday prices against the US, only among countries whose US travel advice is Level 1 or 2.
Western AfricaThe countries
Northern Africa
Southern Asia
South-eastern Asia
Southern Asia
Southern Asia
Eastern Europe
Southern Asia
Western Africa
Southern Asia
Western Africa
Southern Asia
Southern Asia
Eastern Africa
Central Asia
South-eastern Asia
Western Asia
South-eastern Asia
South-eastern Asia
Central Asia
Northern Africa
Eastern Europe
Eastern Africa
South-eastern Asia
Eastern Africa
Eastern Europe
South America
Western Africa
South-eastern Asia
Eastern Europe
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
Eastern Africa
Western Asia
South-eastern Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia
South-eastern Asia
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Western Africa
Eastern Asia
Southern Africa
Central America
Western Africa
South America
South-eastern Asia
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Western Africa
Western Africa
Eastern Africa
Western Africa
Eastern Africa
Southern Europe
Western Africa
Western Asia
South-eastern Asia
South America
Western Africa
Western Asia
Western Asia
Caribbean
Eastern Africa
Northern Africa
South America
Southern Europe
Southern Africa
Melanesia
Central America
Middle Africa
Western Asia
Southern Africa
Southern Europe
Middle Africa
Northern Africa
Western Asia
Middle Africa
South America
Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
Western Asia
Central America
Eastern Europe
Southern Europe
Central America
South America
South America
Central America
Eastern Africa
Western Asia
Western Asia
Eastern Asia
Western Africa
South America
Caribbean
Caribbean
Southern Asia
Caribbean
South America
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Central America
Southern Europe
Eastern Africa
Central America
Eastern Africa
Eastern Asia
Eastern Africa
Western Asia
Caribbean
Northern Europe
Western Asia
Eastern Asia
Eastern Europe
Melanesia
Northern Europe
Central America
Eastern Europe
Southern Europe
Caribbean
Southern Europe
South-eastern Asia
Polynesia
Southern Europe
Western Asia
Southern Europe
Western Asia
Eastern Asia
South America
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Southern Europe
Caribbean
Southern Europe
Caribbean
Caribbean
Eastern Asia
Caribbean
Melanesia
Caribbean
Western Europe
Northern America
Caribbean
Southern Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe
Northern America
Western Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Australia and New Zealand
Caribbean
Northern Europe
Caribbean
Northern Europe
Melanesia
Australia and New Zealand
Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Western Europe
Micronesia
Caribbean
Caribbean
Northern America
Western Asia
Caribbean
Western Europe
Caribbean
Northern Europe
Northern America
Caribbean
Caribbean
Polynesia
Western Europe
Western Africa
Southern Europe
Polynesia
Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Western Europe
South America
Polynesia
Western Africa
Central Asia
South America
Southern Europe
Melanesia
Caribbean
Southern Asia
Western Asia
Eastern Africa
South America
Eastern Asia
Northern AfricaHow it sorts: each thing you pick scores every country from 0 to 1 (live for less: the World Bank's price level against the US; lower tax: no income tax or a territorial system first, then remittance, then a worldwide system by its top rate; easy residency: open nomad, freelancer, passive income or retirement visas; fast citizenship: fewer years to naturalize, less if dual citizenship isn't allowed; start a company: a low corporate tax; fast internet: M-Lab's median download, from 5 Mbps (empty) to 150 Mbps (full) on a log scale; safe: the US travel advice, with Levels 1 and 2 both counting as everyday travel; visa-free on my passport: your passport's rule for the country), and the countries sort by the average. With nothing picked, it's a balance of cost, tax, residency and safety.
Prices: the World Bank's purchasing power conversion factor over the exchange rate (WDI, CC BY 4.0). Tax: the territorial tax map's classification and each country's rates. Citizenship and residency: official immigration sources in the visa finders' tables. Safety: the US State Department's advisories, read 2026-09-29. Internet: M-Lab's open speed tests over the last 12 months. Videos and photos from Pexels, Coverr, Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons, credited on each country.
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Where does your money go furthest?
Ranked by the World Bank's price level, everyday prices against the US, only among countries whose US travel advice is Level 1 or 2.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- The top 15 countries, and why each ranks where it does
- How the ranking works
- More ways to compare countries
Open any country for its full guide, with visas for your passport, tax and costs.
TL;DRKey takeaways
Cheapest Countries to Live In: the ranking
- Egypt – about 15% of US prices, territorial tax
- Laos – about 23% of US prices
- Bhutan – about 23% of US prices, territorial tax
- India – about 23% of US prices
- Bulgaria – about 23% of US prices
- Sierra Leone – about 24% of US prices
- Nepal – about 24% of US prices
- Gambia – about 25% of US prices
- Sri Lanka – about 27% of US prices
- Tajikistan – about 28% of US prices
- Timor-Leste – about 28% of US prices
- Indonesia – about 29% of US prices
- Vietnam – about 29% of US prices
- Uzbekistan – about 29% of US prices
- Tunisia – about 30% of US prices
How the ranking works
How it sorts: each thing you pick scores every country from 0 to 1 (live for less: the World Bank's price level against the US; lower tax: no income tax or a territorial system first, then remittance, then a worldwide system by its top rate; easy residency: open nomad, freelancer, passive income or retirement visas; fast citizenship: fewer years to naturalize, less if dual citizenship isn't allowed; start a company: a low corporate tax; fast internet: M-Lab's median download, from 5 Mbps (empty) to 150 Mbps (full) on a log scale; safe: the US travel advice, with Levels 1 and 2 both counting as everyday travel; visa-free on my passport: your passport's rule for the country), and the countries sort by the average. With nothing picked, it's a balance of cost, tax, residency and safety.
More ways to compare countries
Cheapest countries to live in FAQs
Questions about it? Here's what to know.
By the World Bank's price level, the countries at the top of the list.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than the national level suggests.
It's the World Bank's purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
100% means US prices; 40% means everyday things cost about 40% of what they do in the US.
I've lived in Cambodia, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela and Vietnam.
I'm a permanent resident of Panama, my home base.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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