Fading NRI dream: Will your foreign salary sustain the cost of living abroad?

Some countries report high inflation with low wage growth, affecting the purchasing power. (Sanket Dhanorkar/ET Bureau; The average cost of living in the USA (based on 2022 and 2023) is adjusted to an index of 100. All other countries are related to this index. So with an index of 80, usual expenses in another country are 20% less then that in the USA. The calculated purchasing power index is again based on a value of 100 for the USA. If it is higher, people can afford more based on the cost of living in relation to income. If it is lower, the population is less wealthy. With a cost of living index of 131, all goods in Switzerland are on average about 31% more expensive than in the USA. But since average income in Switzerland is also 24% higher, citizens can afford more goods. Source: worlddata.info.)

Cost of inflation index: 107; Gross monthly wage ($): 5,361; Purchasing power index: 74.1.

Cost of inflation index: 101.3; Gross monthly wage ($): 5,080; Purchasing power index: 68.1.

Cost of inflation index: 83.2; Gross monthly wage ($): 3,657; Purchasing power index: 70.9.

Cost of inflation index: 82.3; Gross monthly wage ($): 3,986; Purchasing power index: 85.6.

Cost of inflation index: 110.6; Gross monthly wage ($): 4,645; Purchasing power index: 93.9.

Cost of inflation index: 101.4; Gross monthly wage ($): 4,256; Purchasing power index: 63.1.

Cost of inflation index: 98.5; Gross monthly wage ($): 4,184; Purchasing power index: 65.1.

Cost of inflation index: 100; Gross monthly wage ($): 6,455; Purchasing power index: 100.