Big Mac index in Costa Rica 2025| Statista

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. In Costa Rica, the average price for a Big Mac burger was estimated at *** U.S. dollars in January 2025. Costa Rica price for a Big Mac is among the highest in Latin America, only behind Uruguay and Argentina.

Big Mac Index

The Big Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.

The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Inflation in Costa Rica

Costa Rica ranks in the middle table of Latin American countries with the highest inflation rates, nonetheless, in the Central American region it’s only behind Honduras. During 2022, the inflation rate of Costa Rica was ****, after many years of low rates, the global inflation crisis accelerated the price increases in the country. Some sectors were impacted more heavily than others, in June 2023, the industry with the highest Consumer Price Index (CPI) was food and non-alcoholic beverages, in contrast, the communications sector presented the lowest.

Prices for a Big Mac in Costa Rica from 2010 to 2025 (in U.S. dollars)

Characteristic	Average price in U.S. dollars
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Release date

January 2025

More information

Region

Costa Rica, Central and South America

Survey time period

2010 to 2025*

Supplementary notes

* As of January of each year, except from 2011 (price as of July).
The Big Mac index is a way of measuring Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) between different countries. By diverting the average national Big Mac prices to U.S. dollars, the same goods can be informally compared. The Big Mac can also be a good indicator for the individual purchasing power of an economy since it exists worldwide in standard size, composition and quality.
Values have been rounded.
** Data was manually calculated by Statista with the figures provided by the source.

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