Orion 09by Capital & Control
Indexes/Cost

Cost of Living Index

What a comparable standard of living costs on the ground — housing, schooling, services and the everyday basket.

Median
82
Mean
73
Top decile from
90
Highest
95

What this index measures

Moderate · scored 0–100

  1. 01

    Housing cost in the primary city

  2. 02

    Private schooling and healthcare costs

  3. 03

    Everyday basket and services

A higher score means cheaper. Small zero-tax territories score badly here: the tax saving is often spent on rent and imports.

How the score is weighted

Each input is normalised to 0–100 across all 209 jurisdictions, then combined at the weights below. Weights sum to 100 and are held constant across every jurisdiction in an edition, so scores stay comparable.

Moderate in the composite

WeightingPublished
  • Housing in the primary city40% of the score

    Rent and purchase cost for a comparable household.

  • Everyday basket and services30% of the score

    Groceries, transport, utilities, dining.

  • Schooling and private healthcare20% of the score

    International schooling and private cover.

  • Price level adjustment10% of the score

    Purchasing power parity correction.

Who leads it

The ten highest scores on this signal, with their overall standing beside them — the gap between the two columns is the trade-off.

  1. 01
    Paraguay
    Americas
    95ovr 49
  2. 02
    Nepal
    Asia
    95ovr 37
  3. 03
    Bangladesh
    Asia
    95ovr 35
  4. 04
    Pakistan
    Asia
    95ovr 34
  5. 05
    Afghanistan
    Asia
    95ovr 23
  6. 06
    Georgia
    Europe
    92ovr 53
  7. 07
    India
    Asia
    92ovr 42
  8. 08
    Timor-Leste
    Asia
    92ovr 37
  9. 09
    Sierra Leone
    Africa
    92ovr 35
  10. 10
    Tajikistan
    Asia
    92ovr 34

How regions compare

Average score per region against its best case. A wide gap means the region is worth searching; a narrow one means the whole region behaves the same way.

  • Africa
    86 / 92
  • Asia
    77 / 95
  • Oceania
    76 / 85
  • Americas
    74 / 95
  • Middle East
    66 / 88
  • Europe
    55 / 92

Full ranking

Continent209 shown
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#JurisdictionRegionCostOrion Index Score
001ParaguayAmericas
95
4973% rated
002NepalAsia
95
3773% rated
003BangladeshAsia
95
3573% rated
004PakistanAsia
95
3473% rated
005AfghanistanAsia
95
2373% rated
006GeorgiaEurope
92
5373% rated
007IndiaAsia
92
4273% rated
008Timor-LesteAsia
92
3773% rated
009Sierra LeoneAfrica
92
3573% rated
010TajikistanAsia
92
3473% rated
011LiberiaAfrica
92
3473% rated
012BurundiAfrica
92
3273% rated
013DR CongoAfrica
92
2873% rated
014Central African RepublicAfrica
92
2673% rated
015SomaliaAfrica
92
2373% rated
016South SudanAfrica
92
2373% rated
017ColombiaAmericas
90
4773% rated
018MoldovaEurope
90
4173% rated
019Sri LankaAsia
90
4073% rated
020CambodiaAsia
90
3973% rated
021NicaraguaAmericas
90
3773% rated
022KyrgyzstanAsia
90
3773% rated
023LaosAsia
90
3773% rated
024MalawiAfrica
90
3773% rated
025TogoAfrica
90
3573% rated
026EthiopiaAfrica
90
3373% rated
027Guinea-BissauAfrica
90
3273% rated
028NigerAfrica
90
2973% rated
029ChadAfrica
90
2873% rated
030EritreaAfrica
90
2873% rated
031North KoreaAsia
90
2673% rated
032Western SaharaAfrica
90
2673% rated
033SudanAfrica
90
2373% rated
034BulgariaEurope
88
5173% rated
035ThailandAsia
88
4673% rated
036AlbaniaEurope
88
4573% rated
037IndonesiaAsia
88
4373% rated
038VietnamAsia
88
4373% rated
039KosovoEurope
88
3973% rated
040BhutanAsia
88
3973% rated
041GuatemalaAmericas
88
3973% rated
042BoliviaAmericas
88
3873% rated
043EgyptAfrica
88
3773% rated
044GambiaAfrica
88
3773% rated
045MadagascarAfrica
88
3773% rated
046BeninAfrica
88
3673% rated
047HondurasAmericas
88
3673% rated
048UgandaAfrica
88
3673% rated
049ComorosAfrica
88
3573% rated
050MozambiqueAfrica
88
3573% rated
051NigeriaAfrica
88
3473% rated
052UkraineEurope
88
3473% rated
053GuineaAfrica
88
3373% rated
054MauritaniaAfrica
88
3373% rated
055CongoAfrica
88
3273% rated
056Burkina FasoAfrica
88
3173% rated
057MaliAfrica
88
3073% rated
058MyanmarAsia
88
2873% rated
059HaitiAmericas
88
2773% rated
060SyriaMiddle East
88
2473% rated
061YemenMiddle East
88
2373% rated
062MontenegroEurope
85
5373% rated
063MalaysiaAsia
85
5073% rated
064SerbiaEurope
85
4873% rated
065MexicoAmericas
85
4673% rated
066North MacedoniaEurope
85
4573% rated
067Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope
85
4373% rated
068ArmeniaAsia
85
4273% rated
069GhanaAfrica
85
4273% rated
070PeruAmericas
85
4273% rated
071RwandaAfrica
85
4073% rated
072SenegalAfrica
85
4073% rated
073PhilippinesAsia
85
3973% rated
074KenyaAfrica
85
3973% rated
075TanzaniaAfrica
85
3973% rated
076CubaAmericas
85
3873% rated
077El SalvadorAmericas
85
3873% rated
078Sao Tome & PrincipeAfrica
85
3773% rated
079UzbekistanAsia
85
3773% rated
080Ivory CoastAfrica
85
3773% rated
081ZambiaAfrica
85
3773% rated
082Solomon IslandsOceania
85
3673% rated
083DjiboutiAfrica
85
3573% rated
084CameroonAfrica
85
3473% rated
085LesothoAfrica
85
3473% rated
086AngolaAfrica
85
3473% rated
087Papua New GuineaOceania
85
3473% rated
088ZimbabweAfrica
85
3473% rated
089Equatorial GuineaAfrica
85
3173% rated
090VenezuelaAmericas
85
2973% rated
091PalestineMiddle East
85
2673% rated
092LibyaAfrica
85
2473% rated
093MoroccoAfrica
82
4373% rated
094BelizeAmericas
82
4273% rated
095Dominican RepublicAmericas
82
4173% rated
096EcuadorAmericas
82
4173% rated
097BelarusEurope
82
4073% rated
098Marshall IslandsOceania
82
3873% rated
099GuyanaAmericas
82
3773% rated
100MicronesiaOceania
82
3773% rated
101SurinameAmericas
82
3773% rated
102TuvaluOceania
82
3773% rated
103KiribatiOceania
82
3673% rated
104AlgeriaAfrica
82
3573% rated
105EswatiniAfrica
82
3573% rated
106TurkmenistanAsia
82
3273% rated
107IraqMiddle East
82
2773% rated
108TurkeyAsia
80
4573% rated
109Cape VerdeAfrica
80
4473% rated
110TunisiaAfrica
80
4373% rated
111SamoaOceania
80
4073% rated
112TongaOceania
80
4073% rated
113NiueOceania
80
3973% rated
114PalauOceania
80
3973% rated
115NauruOceania
80
3673% rated
116GabonAfrica
80
3573% rated
117DominicaAmericas
78
5373% rated
118VanuatuOceania
78
5073% rated
119RomaniaEurope
78
4773% rated
120KazakhstanAsia
78
4573% rated
121BrazilAmericas
78
4373% rated
122FijiOceania
78
4273% rated
123Cook IslandsOceania
78
4273% rated
124JamaicaAmericas
78
3973% rated
125AzerbaijanAsia
78
3973% rated
126LebanonMiddle East
78
3373% rated
127IranMiddle East
78
2973% rated
128GrenadaAmericas
75
5373% rated
129LatviaEurope
75
5073% rated
130ArgentinaAmericas
75
4373% rated
131St Vincent & GrenadinesAmericas
75
4273% rated
132BotswanaAfrica
75
4273% rated
133NamibiaAfrica
75
4173% rated
134Trinidad and TobagoAmericas
75
3973% rated
135MongoliaAsia
75
3773% rated
136EstoniaEurope
72
6281% rated
137St Kitts and NevisAmericas
72
5473% rated
138St LuciaAmericas
72
5373% rated
139LithuaniaEurope
72
5073% rated
140Costa RicaAmericas
72
4973% rated
141BarbadosAmericas
72
4673% rated
142South AfricaAfrica
72
4273% rated
143JordanMiddle East
72
3973% rated
144PanamaAmericas
70
5173% rated
145MaldivesAsia
70
4873% rated
146RussiaEurope
70
3973% rated
147UruguayAmericas
68
4773% rated
148ChileAmericas
68
4673% rated
149SeychellesAfrica
68
4573% rated
150Antigua and BarbudaAmericas
65
5373% rated
151MaltaEurope
65
5173% rated
152GreeceEurope
65
4773% rated
153PolandEurope
65
4673% rated
154CyprusEurope
62
5978% rated
155BahamasAmericas
62
5373% rated
156MauritiusAfrica
62
4773% rated
157HungaryEurope
62
4473% rated
158PortugalEurope
60
6081% rated
159CroatiaEurope
60
4873% rated
160SlovakiaEurope
60
4673% rated
161British Virgin IslandsAmericas
58
5487% rated
162SpainEurope
58
5073% rated
163OmanMiddle East
58
4887% rated
164Czech RepublicEurope
58
4773% rated
165BruneiAsia
55
5073% rated
166BahrainMiddle East
55
5092% rated
167Saudi ArabiaMiddle East
55
4995% rated
168SloveniaEurope
55
4773% rated
169ItalyEurope
55
4673% rated
170ChinaAsia
55
3673% rated
171GermanyEurope
50
6695% rated
172TaiwanAsia
50
4873% rated
173KuwaitMiddle East
50
4792% rated
174San MarinoEurope
48
5373% rated
175UAEMiddle East
48
5094% rated
176IsraelMiddle East
48
4673% rated
177South KoreaAsia
48
4673% rated
178AndorraEurope
45
6281% rated
179GibraltarEurope
45
5487% rated
180MacauAsia
45
4673% rated
181FranceEurope
45
4573% rated
182QatarMiddle East
42
5194% rated
183CanadaAmericas
42
4773% rated
184JapanAsia
42
4573% rated
185BelgiumEurope
42
4473% rated
186AustriaEurope
40
6595% rated
187NetherlandsEurope
40
6595% rated
188New ZealandOceania
40
5073% rated
189FinlandEurope
38
69100% rated
190AustraliaOceania
38
4973% rated
191USAAmericas
38
3973% rated
192IrelandEurope
35
6695% rated
193SwedenEurope
35
6395% rated
194Cayman IslandsAmericas
35
6092% rated
195SingaporeAsia
35
5373% rated
196Isle of ManEurope
35
5187% rated
197Vatican CityEurope
35
4773% rated
198United KingdomEurope
35
4373% rated
199GuernseyEurope
30
5187% rated
200JerseyEurope
30
5187% rated
201IcelandEurope
30
4973% rated
202BermudaAmericas
28
5792% rated
203Hong KongAsia
28
4573% rated
204DenmarkEurope
25
6395% rated
205NorwayEurope
22
6495% rated
206LuxembourgEurope
22
6089% rated
207LiechtensteinEurope
20
4973% rated
208SwitzerlandEurope
18
77100% rated
209MonacoEurope
12
5373% rated
At the other end

The five lowest scores on this signal: Monaco (12), Switzerland (18), Liechtenstein (20), Luxembourg (22), Norway (22). A weak score here is not disqualifying on its own — read it against the composite.

Where this comes from

Each input is normalised to a 0–100 scale and weighted into the score above. We cite the underlying publication rather than the aggregator wherever one exists.

Edition 2026.1 · reviewed quarterly

  1. 01Cost of Living Index (New York = 100)
    Numbeo

    Baseline basket, rent and everyday price levels by city.

  2. 02International Comparison Program
    World Bank

    Purchasing power parity adjustment between jurisdictions.

  3. 03Prices and purchasing power parities
    OECD

    Cross-check on price levels for advanced economies.

Read next

Orion Index Score
Composite

The weighted composite of thirteen factors across four groups — financial, mobility & access, human development & services, and safety & livability. It answers one question: on balance, how well does this jurisdiction serve someone who can choose where to live and where to hold capital?

Tax Burden Index
Heaviest weight

Effective personal tax exposure for a mobile earner — headline income tax, plus how the jurisdiction treats foreign income, capital gains and wealth.

Safety Index
High

Personal and civil safety — violent crime, property crime, and the risk of disorder or conflict spilling into daily life.

Healthcare Index
High

Quality, access and cost of care for a resident who is paying privately or through a local scheme.

Passport Strength Index
Moderate

What the travel document is worth — visa-free reach, treaty position, and whether citizenship is realistically attainable.

Residency Access Index
Heaviest weight

How hard it is to actually land — time, cost, paperwork and the physical presence a jurisdiction demands of you.

209 jurisdictions · Edition 2026.1 · scores are informational, not tax advice