Introduction

Last week, I wrote an article comparing salaries worldwide based solely on the currency-to-gold exchange rate. However, a comment from Torsten Flink suggested that a more reliable ranking would require calculating purchasing power. This article, therefore, aims to rank the countries with the best purchasing power globally.



Methodology

  • I gathered statistics from all countries based on the job market, the general market, and the monetary market.
  • For salaries, I used net salaries, taking into account labor taxes. Salaries were recorded on December 21 and December 22, and I kept the highest observed value.
  • For exchange rates, I noted the values on December 21 and December 22 and calculated their average.
  • Regarding market items, I chose to focus on Quality 3 (Q3) food and Q3 weapons, as Q1 item prices are unstable and heavily influenced by NPCs. Additionally, a market without Q3 items does not warrant being in the top 15. Thus, in the tables below, when you see "food" or "weapon," it refers to Q3 items. The prices of food and weapons were recorded on December 21 and December 22, and their average was used for calculations.
  • The ranking criterion is based on how much a salary allows purchasing Q3 food and Q3 weapons. The calculation assumes a player logs in once daily, so I consider the purchase of 10 Q3 food and calculate how many Q3 weapons the salary can buy in addition to these 10 Q3 food.
  • Although the salary in gold is not part of the calculation, it is included to give an idea of its value in local currency.


For those who want more details, here is a detailed table of the top 15 countries. If you're looking for the ranking of your country that is not listed in the table, leave a comment, and I will look it up in my Google Doc for you.


I hope you liked the article

I would be happy to hear your feedback and critiques.