The 1998 Big Mac Index from The Economist is shown below. If are looking to get the entire Big Mac Index dataset going back to 1986, click here to download the complete spreadsheet.
Big Mac Index - Published April 9, 1998
| Country | Local Price | $ Price | $ Exchange Rate | Dollar PPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2.5 | 2.50 | 1 | 0.98 |
| Australia | 2.65 | 1.75 | 1.51 | 1.04 |
| Austria | 34 | 2.62 | 12.96 | 13.28 |
| Belgium | 109 | 2.87 | 38 | 42.58 |
| Brazil | 3.1 | 2.72 | 1.14 | 1.21 |
| Britain | 1.84 | 3.05 | 0.602 | 0.719 |
| Canada | 2.79 | 1.97 | 1.42 | 1.09 |
| Chile | 1250 | 2.75 | 455 | 488 |
| China | 9.9 | 1.20 | 8.28 | 3.87 |
| Czech. Rep. | 54 | 1.57 | 34.4 | 21.1 |
| Denmark | 23.8 | 3.39 | 7.02 | 9.28 |
| France | 17.5 | 2.84 | 6.17 | 6.84 |
| Germany/W. Germany | 4.95 | 2.69 | 1.84 | 1.93 |
| Greece | 575.28 | 2.04 | 282 | 222.977 |
| Holland | 5.45 | 2.63 | 2.07 | 2.13 |
| Hong Kong | 10.2 | 1.32 | 7.75 | 3.98 |
| Hungary | 259 | 1.22 | 213 | 101 |
| Indonesia | 9900 | 1.16 | 8500 | 3867 |
| Israel | 12.5 | 3.38 | 3.7 | 4.88 |
| Italy | 4500 | 2.47 | 1818 | 1758 |
| Japan | 280 | 2.08 | 135 | 109 |
| Malaysia | 4.3 | 1.16 | 3.72 | 1.68 |
| Mexico | 17.9 | 2.10 | 8.54 | 6.99 |
| New Zealand | 3.45 | 1.90 | 1.82 | 1.35 |
| Peru | 6.899 | 2.54 | 2.716 | 2.674 |
| Philippines | 43.146 | 1.08 | 39.95 | 16.723 |
| Poland | 5.3 | 1.53 | 3.46 | 2.07 |
| Russia/Soviet Union | 12000 | 2.00 | 5999 | 4688 |
| Singapore | 3 | 1.85 | 1.62 | 1.17 |
| South Africa | 8 | 1.59 | 5.04 | 3.13 |
| S. Korea | 2600 | 1.76 | 1474 | 1016 |
| Spain | 375 | 2.40 | 156 | 146 |
| Sweden | 24 | 3.00 | 8 | 9.38 |
| Switzerland | 5.9 | 3.87 | 1.52 | 2.3 |
| Taiwan | 68 | 2.06 | 33 | 26.6 |
| Thailand | 52 | 1.30 | 40 | 20.3 |
| United States | 2.56 | 2.56 | . | . |
| Venezuela | 1,704.331 | 3.38 | 504.24 | 660.593 |
| Saudi Arabia | 8.988 | 2.40 | 3.745 | 3.484 |
The first MacDonald’s opened in Romania in June 1995, yet it doesn’t appear on the Big Mac index ((‘m interested most in 1996 and 1997)
Any particular reason you have left Romania out?
Hi Norrie,
The Economist publishes this index each year and decides which countries will be part of the index. I’m not sure how they decide which countries to include but unfortunately in 1996 and 1997 Romania was not one of the chosen countries.