Readers based in Johannesburg will work for an average of 26 minutes to earn enough to buy a Big Mac. That compares well to the global average of 37 minutes, not as good as the 12 minutes it takes in Chicago, but a whole lot better than the 2.5 hours people work in Nairobi to pay for a Big Mac, according to the latest UBS study: Prices and Earnings 2009. The study was based on data collected in 73 cities around the world between March and April of this year. The study has ranked Oslo, Zurich, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and New York as the world's most expensive cities based on a standardised basket of 122 goods and services – including transportation, which makes up 15% of the basket. The basket costs the least in Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Delhi and Mumbai. Johannesburg (the only SA city in the study) was 64th cheapest for the basket, enjoyed the 43rd highest wages, scored 40th in terms of domestic buying power, as well as the number of minutes worked to buy a big Mac, or an 8gb iPod Nano.
