Meal prices for one person swing wildly depending on where you are, and the spread is honestly kind of absurd. Switzerland sits at the very top with an average of $31.20, no surprise there. Norway takes second at $23.60, then Denmark at $23.43. Belgium and the Netherlands are dead even in fourth at $23.36, with Ireland basically on their heels at $23.35. The UK comes in at $21.82, Italy at $20.19, and the U.S. at an even $20.00. A big cluster of countries lands in the $17.52 to $18.68 band: Austria, Canada, Australia, Greece, Finland, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, and France. Uruguay averages $16.17, Sweden $15.30, New Zealand $14.93, and then another group sits between $13.50 and $14.34: Argentina, Lithuania, Portugal, Latvia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Puerto Rico. Flip to the cheap end and Bangladesh has the lowest average at $1.63. Indonesia is next at $1.70, Bolivia third at $1.73, and then a long stretch of countries runs from $1.85 up to $6.29 including Japan, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Oman, Taiwan, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Philippines, Egypt, Kenya, Malaysia, Peru, Ecuador, Iran, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Vietnam. The global median for a meal is $9.35. Numbeo, August 2026.