Cheapest Countries to Live In

India ranks #1 with a composite score of 94.4.

Top 5 Ranked

India

94.4

Iraq

92.5

Bolivia

92.0

4 Egypt

5 Jordan

India

94.4

Iraq

92.5

Bolivia

92.0

4 Egypt 91.3

5 Jordan 91.0

Overview

The cheapest livable countries tend to be in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and parts of Latin America. These countries combine low costs with adequate infrastructure for a comfortable life. Some of the world's absolute cheapest countries fall lower in this ranking because they lack reliable water, electricity, or internet access.

Global Rankings

Rank	Country	Score	Cost Index (index)	Water Access (%)	Electricity Access (%)	Internet Access (%)
1	India	94.4	19.8	95.7%	99.5%	70.0%
2	Iraq	92.5	31.9	98.4%	100.0%	81.5%
3	Bolivia	92.0	26.8	93.4%	99.8%	79.7%
4	Egypt	91.3	31.8	97.3%	100.0%	74.7%
5	Jordan	91.0	41.5	99.3%	100.0%	95.6%
6	Bangladesh	90.7	27.9	98.8%	99.5%	53.4%
7	Belarus	90.6	42.7	99.9%	100.0%	94.3%
8	Azerbaijan	90.3	40.0	97.7%	100.0%	90.8%
9	Chile	89.9	44.2	99.1%	100.0%	95.6%
10	Uzbekistan	89.8	40.3	97.3%	100.0%	89.5%
11	Kyrgyzstan	89.6	39.1	94.9%	100.0%	92.0%
12	China	89.5	40.6	96.1%	100.0%	91.6%
13	Brazil	89.5	42.5	100.0%	99.8%	84.5%
14	Paraguay	89.2	42.0	99.6%	99.8%	81.6%
15	Vietnam	89.1	42.1	98.8%	99.8%	84.2%
16	Macedonia	88.9	44.9	98.2%	100.0%	93.1%
17	Romania	88.5	47.6	100.0%	100.0%	91.3%
18	Algeria	88.4	34.8	92.4%	100.0%	77.4%
19	Morocco	88.1	39.8	92.2%	100.0%	91.2%
20	Thailand	88.0	48.7	100.0%	100.0%	90.9%
21	Kazakhstan	87.6	48.0	97.8%	100.0%	93.4%
22	Peru	87.4	39.7	95.6%	96.2%	82.0%
23	Tunisia	87.3	42.3	96.7%	100.0%	76.5%
24	Philippines	87.3	36.7	95.9%	98.0%	67.3%
25	Iran	87.2	46.6	97.9%	100.0%	85.3%
26	Malaysia	87.1	51.2	97.9%	100.0%	98.0%
27	Pakistan	87.1	26.5	90.7%	95.6%	57.3%
28	Dominican Republic	87.0	48.1	97.5%	99.6%	91.0%
29	Ukraine	86.7	42.2	93.5%	100.0%	82.5%
30	Bosnia and Herzegovina	86.6	46.5	96.1%	100.0%	86.1%
31	Bulgaria	86.6	48.9	99.2%	100.0%	82.4%
32	Kuwait	86.4	55.9	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
33	Nepal	86.3	27.1	93.6%	94.0%	46.3%
34	Indonesia	86.2	34.8	89.0%	99.4%	72.8%
35	Georgia	86.0	48.7	97.3%	100.0%	83.8%
36	Ecuador	85.9	40.0	92.1%	98.7%	77.2%
37	Libya	85.6	27.4	96.4%	73.2%	82.0%
38	Mauritius	85.3	50.1	99.9%	100.0%	73.3%
39	Japan	85.3	53.1	99.2%	100.0%	85.5%
40	Latvia	85.3	55.2	98.8%	100.0%	92.7%
41	Hungary	85.1	57.3	100.0%	100.0%	93.8%
42	Serbia	85.1	50.3	95.4%	100.0%	87.7%
43	Mexico	85.0	53.5	99.5%	99.7%	83.1%
44	Russia	84.9	54.5	96.9%	100.0%	94.4%
45	Venezuela	84.7	45.4	93.3%	100.0%	76.7%
46	Lithuania	84.3	58.0	99.9%	100.0%	89.2%
47	Slovakia	84.2	58.4	99.8%	100.0%	89.8%
48	Montenegro	84.1	57.5	99.3%	100.0%	88.9%
49	Sri Lanka	84.1	36.6	90.2%	100.0%	54.6%
50	Oman	84.0	52.4	92.7%	100.0%	95.3%
51	Armenia	83.8	56.6	99.9%	100.0%	81.3%
52	Argentina	83.7	58.7	99.0%	100.0%	89.7%
53	Tajikistan	83.5	37.2	89.2%	100.0%	55.8%
54	Moldova	83.4	48.3	92.7%	100.0%	77.4%
55	Turkey	83.4	56.2	96.0%	100.0%	89.8%
56	Estonia	83.3	61.7	100.0%	100.0%	92.2%
57	Syria	83.1	32.1	94.1%	88.4%	46.6%
58	Ghana	82.7	37.3	89.9%	89.5%	72.2%
59	Albania	82.5	56.2	95.1%	100.0%	85.9%
60	Greece	82.3	62.3	100.0%	100.0%	86.3%
61	Bahrain	82.0	67.5	99.9%	100.0%	100.0%
62	Croatia	81.8	62.7	99.9%	100.0%	83.6%
63	Saudi Arabia	81.8	67.2	99.0%	100.0%	100.0%
64	Czech Republic	81.4	63.7	98.7%	100.0%	87.7%
65	South Korea	81.1	69.3	100.0%	100.0%	97.9%
66	Slovenia	80.8	67.4	99.6%	100.0%	90.8%
67	Colombia	80.8	59.8	97.1%	98.7%	79.4%
68	Brunei	80.6	70.1	100.0%	100.0%	96.3%
69	Uruguay	80.4	68.8	99.6%	100.0%	92.0%
70	Poland	80.1	57.9	90.1%	100.0%	88.6%
71	Maldives	80.1	67.7	99.8%	100.0%	85.2%
72	New Zealand	79.7	71.7	100.0%	100.0%	93.5%
73	Portugal	79.7	69.1	99.3%	100.0%	88.5%
74	Spain	79.7	72.2	99.9%	100.0%	95.8%
75	Costa Rica	79.6	69.7	99.8%	100.0%	87.2%
76	Trinidad and Tobago	79.4	66.8	99.3%	98.7%	82.2%
77	Sweden	78.9	74.3	99.8%	100.0%	95.8%
78	Qatar	78.9	75.3	100.0%	100.0%	98.1%
79	Cyprus	78.7	72.8	99.7%	100.0%	89.6%
80	Panama	78.2	61.3	95.3%	97.0%	72.8%
81	South Africa	78.1	50.4	90.2%	87.7%	78.4%
82	Finland	78.0	76.2	100.0%	100.0%	93.7%
83	United Arab Emirates	78.0	78.3	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
84	Italy	77.7	75.6	99.9%	100.0%	89.2%
85	Germany	77.4	77.8	100.0%	100.0%	93.5%
86	Malta	76.9	79.1	100.0%	100.0%	93.9%
87	Cambodia	76.8	48.2	82.9%	95.0%	68.5%
88	France	76.5	78.5	100.0%	100.0%	88.7%
89	Guatemala	76.4	62.1	93.2%	100.0%	60.2%
90	Canada	75.8	80.2	98.3%	100.0%	94.4%
91	Puerto Rico	75.4	80.9	100.0%	100.0%	87.3%
92	Belgium	75.4	83.8	100.0%	100.0%	95.8%
93	Austria	75.2	83.2	100.0%	100.0%	91.9%
94	Lebanon	74.9	72.0	92.6%	100.0%	80.6%
95	Nicaragua	74.2	47.9	83.2%	88.3%	61.4%
96	Australia	73.5	89.0	100.0%	100.0%	96.1%
97	United Kingdom	73.1	89.7	100.0%	100.0%	95.5%
98	Jamaica	73.0	72.6	87.6%	97.7%	90.1%
99	Denmark	71.7	94.7	100.0%	100.0%	99.8%
100	Netherlands	71.0	95.7	100.0%	100.0%	97.0%
101	Ireland	70.5	94.1	97.1%	100.0%	97.2%
102	Nigeria	69.6	31.7	82.3%	61.2%	41.2%
103	United States	69.1	100.0	100.0%	100.0%	94.7%
104	Norway	68.3	103.7	100.0%	100.0%	99.0%
105	Luxembourg	65.7	110.6	100.0%	100.0%	99.1%
106	Kenya	65.3	34.0	65.6%	76.2%	35.0%
107	Hong Kong	64.5	112.6	100.0%	100.0%	95.8%
108	Israel	62.7	115.2	100.0%	100.0%	88.2%
109	Cameroon	62.1	49.3	71.4%	72.0%	46.3%
110	Zimbabwe	60.3	40.4	67.2%	62.0%	41.6%
111	Zambia	57.7	38.0	73.4%	51.1%	17.1%
112	Switzerland	56.9	133.4	100.0%	100.0%	97.3%
113	Tanzania	55.7	35.6	64.6%	48.3%	31.2%
114	Iceland	53.8	142.1	100.0%	100.0%	98.2%
115	Singapore	39.3	179.2	100.0%	100.0%	94.4%

Cheap vs. Livable: Why This Ranking Is Different

A raw cost ranking would place some of the world's least developed countries at the top. This ranking weights cost at 60% but also requires infrastructure: drinking water (15%), electricity (15%), and internet access (10%). This means a country that is very cheap but lacks running water will rank lower than a slightly more expensive country with full infrastructure. The result is a practical guide to affordable countries where you can actually live comfortably.

Metric Weights

Cost Index 60%

Water Access 15%

Electricity Access 15%

Internet Access 10%

Rankings use each country's most recent figures; countries need data for every metric to be included. Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), The World Factbook (2020–2022), MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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Cheapest Countries to Live In

Top 5 Ranked

India

Iraq

Bolivia

India

Iraq

Bolivia

Overview

Global Rankings

Cheap vs. Livable: Why This Ranking Is Different

Metric Weights

Continue Reading

Best Countries for Digital Nomads

Best Countries to Retire

Best Countries for Families

Best Countries for Healthcare