Map of Worldwide Grocery Costs Shows the U.S. Doesn’t Have it All That Bad

Americans have lamented the rising price of groceries over the last year but compared to the rest of the world, the United States actually has some of the least expensive groceries on the planet, at least according to a new map.

NetCredit determined the countries in the world where groceries are most and least affordable, based on the percent of the average daily salary it costs to buy 12 items deemed essential groceries: breakfast cereal, carton of eggs, boneless chicken breast, local cheese (16 oz.), a bottle of vegetable oil, fresh white bread, milk, potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, tuna, and water.

And lo and behold, America actually proved to have the most affordable groceries on earth, with $25.71 only accounting for 12 percent of the average daily salary.

Of course, none of this is probably going to mean much to American families, who still are dealing with the cost of groceries jumping 5.4 percent in the last year. But still, it does show that compared to much of the rest of the world, Americans are not having to use their whole paycheck to buy groceries.

In fact, the United States was the only country in the rankings below 15 percent, as the Netherlands and Luxembourg tied for second place with a solid 15 percent. Finland fell just behind with 16 percent to snag fourth, while Singapore rounded out the top 5 with a respectable 18 percent.

What’s interesting is that even though Switzerland was an “affordable” place to buy groceries, they’re still some of the most expensive. Affordable is based on a day’s pay — so it’s likely that the strong standard of living makes the groceries still affordable despite their cost. Meanwhile, Djibouti has the world’s cheapest groceries.

10 Most Affordable Countries to Buy Groceries

1. United States: 12 percent of daily salary
2. Netherlands: 15 percent of daily salary
3. Luxembourg: 15 percent of daily salary
4. Finland: 16 percent of daily salary
5. Singapore: 18 percent of daily salary
6. United Kingdom: 19 percent of daily salary
7. Norway: 20 percent of daily salary
8. Ireland: 20 percent of daily salary
9. Kuwait: 21 percent of daily salary
10. Switzerland: 21 percent of daily salary

Not every country could be as lucky as the USA when it comes to groceries but nobody did nearly as badly as Cambodia, where the cost of essential groceries ($49.70) accounted for a whopping 942 percent of the average daily salary. Kenya, which was the second least affordable, was the only country to even get to half of the same rate, with groceries costing 552 percent of the average daily salary.

Things dropped off significantly after the top two, though remained absurdly expensive. Nicaraguan groceries cost 361 percent of the average daily salary, followed by Bangladesh at 340 percent and Honduras at 278 percent.

10 Least Affordable Countries to Buy Groceries

1. Cambodia: 942 percent of daily salary
2. Kenya: 552 percent of daily salary
3. Nicaragua: 361 percent of daily salary
4. Bangladesh: 340 percent of daily salary
5. Honduras: 278 percent of daily salary
6. El Salvador: 220 percent of daily salary
7. Jamaica: 220 percent of daily salary
8. Bolivia: 217 percent of daily salary
9. Egypt: 191 percent of daily salary
10. Bosnia & Herz: 158 percent of daily salary

If you want to know more, you can see the affordability of groceries for every country here.