The Big Mac index: How many burgers can a Romanian afford?

The monthly wage allows the average Romanian earner to buy around 170 Big Mac sandwiches, four times fewer than an American. In comparison, a Norwegian affords nearly 800 such burgers while an American can buy 752 such sandwiches. A citizen of the euro area earns enough to buy more than 420 Big Mac burgers, reports local Ziarul Financiar.

Fast food chain McDonald’s sells the Big Mac sandwiches.In Romania, such sandwiches sell for RON 9.8 - or some USD 2.5, but the price differs in other countries. A Big Mac is more expensive in the US - USD 4.9. The highest price is in Switzerland - USD 7.54, and the lowest, in Ukraine, USD 1.2.

Purchasing power also varies between these countries. The average net wage in Romania was USD 440, in November 2014, according to the national statistics institute. Switzerland has the highest wage - USD 5,700 while Thailand, the lowest - USD 420, according to the Ziarul Financiar analysis.

The local market is in fact almost at the bottom of the global ranking on purchasing power in terms of consumption of fast-food products. Countries such as Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Thailand come after Romania in the ranking.

The most recent Big Max Index, set up by the Economist magazine, shows disparities in the price of a Big Mac as expressed in USD. The index, created in 1986, aims to show whether currencies are at their “correct” level. Romania is however not included in this index.

McDonald’s entered the Romanian market in 1995. In 2013, its turnover totaled some EUR 94 million, up from 2012.

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