Israel Ranks Second Globally in Big Mac Index, Behind Switzerland

According to the latest Big Mac Index published by the British magazine The Economist, Israel now holds the second highest price for a Big Mac worldwide, trailing only Switzerland. The price of a Big Mac in Israel is $7.67, compared to $6.22 in the United States and $2.42 in Taiwan. This marks a significant rise from Israel's eighth place ranking in January, driven by local price increases and the strengthening of the Israeli shekel against the US dollar.

At the start of 2025, the Big Mac in Israel cost 17 shekels, rising to 20 shekels at the beginning of this year, and then increasing by an additional 15% in February to 23 shekels. During the data collection period, the shekel traded at about 3 shekels per dollar, pushing the dollar-denominated price above that of countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.

The Big Mac Index, launched in 1986, serves as a tool to illustrate the purchasing power parity theory, which suggests that identical products should cost roughly the same across countries after currency conversion. The index uses the Big Mac due to its standardized ingredients and cost components, including labor (45.5%), bread (12%), beef (9%), rent (4.5%), and other local expenses such as electricity, infrastructure, and taxes. Price differences in dollar terms reflect local price levels or currency exchange rate deviations.

Israel has historically ranked high in this index, placing third in 1997 with a Big Mac price of 11.5 shekels. However, from 2002, Israel was excluded from the index for several years after government officials argued that the index did not accurately represent the Israeli economy. At that time, the Big Mac cost 12.9 shekels, equivalent to $2.84.