Which are the cheapest countries to visit?

How we chose these ten countries

The source is the World Bank series PA.NUS.PRVT.PLI, titled price level index for households and non-profit institutions serving households final consumption expenditure. Its definition is a ratio of a purchasing power parity conversion factor to the market exchange rate, set against a base country equal to 100. Here the base is the United States. A value of 25 means that, converted at market exchange rates, the same basket of household goods and services costs about a quarter of the United States price.

We took every economy with a 2024 value, 171 in all, and sorted them from lowest to highest. We then picked ten from the lowest 35. The ten are our selection, chosen so that Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and South-East Asia each appear, and so that each is a country many travellers visit. We left out some low-index economies without a view on them, and we did not check each government's travel advice for this page, so read the official advice for any country before you plan.

Egypt: second-lowest index in the 2024 data

Egypt's 2024 value is 19.5, the second-lowest of the 171 economies, behind only Nigeria at 18.0. The series for Egypt has fallen across the years we read, from 26.2 in 2021 to 21.8 in 2023 and 15.6 in 2025. Because the index divides purchasing power parity by the market exchange rate, a weaker local currency pulls it down even when local prices are rising.

That is the main caution for Egypt. A low reading can reflect currency moves rather than a lasting bargain, and prices in resorts and at major sites are set for visitors rather than residents. Browse Egypt stays if you want to see what we list, including Cairo.

India: a steady low index across five years

India sits sixth lowest in 2024 at 23.5. The yearly values are unusually stable: 26.1 in 2021, 23.9 in 2022, 23.6 in 2023, 23.5 in 2024 and 22.7 in 2025. The gap between its highest and lowest of those five values is under four points, so the reading looks settled rather than an exchange-rate blip.

The index is a national average. India is large, and prices differ widely between metropolitan areas and smaller towns, which a single country figure hides. It is a reason to look, not a budget.

Tanzania: tenth lowest, with a small rise in 2025

Tanzania's 2024 value is 25.3, tenth lowest. It declined from 29.7 in 2021 to 25.3 in 2024, then moved up slightly to 26.0 in 2025. The household basket is cheap by this measure, yet the index does not cover park fees, safari operators or flights, which usually make up most of a trip there.

For that reason treat Tanzania as a country with a low everyday price level and separate high-cost activities. Our listing for Zanzibar shows what we hold on the island.

Nepal and Uzbekistan: eleventh and twelfth lowest

Nepal's 2024 reading is 26.5, eleventh lowest, down from 28.7 in 2021 and 27.9 in 2022. The 2023 value is also 26.5, and 2025 is 25.9. The movement is slow compared with Egypt, which suggests a fairly settled picture. Costs for trekking logistics, guides and domestic flights sit outside the household basket.

Uzbekistan records 26.7 in 2024, twelfth lowest. The series is nearly flat from 27.4 in 2021 to 26.7 in 2024, then climbs to 28.4 in 2025. A rise of that size in one year is a reminder that the low end of the table is not fixed, so check recent prices for your own dates if you plan a stay in Tashkent.

Sri Lanka: twentieth lowest, with a volatile series

Sri Lanka's 2024 value is 29.0, twentieth lowest. Its history is jumpier than most: 29.3 in 2021, 24.9 in 2022, 27.6 in 2023, 29.0 in 2024 and 27.0 in 2025. The 2022 dip is the lowest of the five years.

A fall of more than four points in one year, as in 2022, is a signal that exchange rates and inflation are moving. It makes any single-year ranking of Sri Lanka less reliable than one for India or Nepal.

Vietnam: twenty-second lowest and drifting down

Vietnam's 2024 value is 29.6, twenty-second lowest. The series drifts down steadily: 32.4 in 2021, 30.8 in 2022, 29.9 in 2023, 29.6 in 2024 and 28.9 in 2025. In the World Bank file the country appears as Viet Nam.

This is a steady downward drift rather than a shock. On longer trips a kitchen can reduce food spending, which our guide to cooking in an aparthotel kitchen explains.

Tunisia and Thailand: twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth lowest

Tunisia's 2024 value is 30.8, twenty-fourth lowest. Unlike most picks, it has trended upward in recent years, from 28.2 in 2022 to 29.6 in 2023, 30.8 in 2024 and 32.7 in 2025. It was 31.2 in 2021.

That makes Tunisia the clearest case here of a country getting relatively dearer on this measure. It may leave the lowest 30 in later editions.

Thailand's 2024 index is 30.9, twenty-sixth lowest. It fell from 36.6 in 2021 to 30.9 in 2024 and then rose to 32.3 in 2025. Together with Vietnam and Indonesia, it shows how South-East Asia sits around 30 on this measure.

Tourist areas can price well above the national household basket, so do not expect the index to hold in the busiest islands. Compare cities such as Chiang Mai with resort areas before you decide.

Indonesia: thirty-fifth lowest, the top of our range

Indonesia's 2024 value is 32.2, thirty-fifth lowest and the highest of our ten. It fell from 37.4 in 2021 to 32.2 in 2024 and 30.7 in 2025. It is on the list as a deliberate reach, to show how many popular destinations sit just above the cheapest group.

Bali is an example of why national averages mislead. Prices on a heavily visited island can differ from the rest of the country, so use the figure for Indonesia as a whole and check Bali separately.

The ten side by side

The table gives the World Bank index for each pick across three years, and the 2024 rank among 171 economies. Lower means cheaper for residents relative to the United States. Our own median stay prices for the same countries appear in a separate table further down.

Limits of this list and of the index

The World Bank builds these figures from the International Comparison Program, a global statistical programme that the Bank's programme page describes. On its programme page, read in October 2026, the Bank lists the 2021 cycle, released in May 2024, as the latest benchmark, with extrapolated GDP PPPs for 2022 and 2023. We did not find a method note explaining how the 2024 and 2025 values in this series were produced, so treat them as estimates built on that benchmark.

Three further limits apply. First, the index covers residents' consumption, which excludes much of what visitors buy, such as international flights and organised tours. Second, because it divides by the market exchange rate, currency swings alter it without any change in shop prices. Third, a national average hides large gaps between cities and resorts. A country with a low reading can still have expensive places, and the reverse.

Because of this, the best use of the index is to choose which countries to research, then to check prices for your own dates and the place you want to stay.

Practical notes for a low-cost trip

Everyday costs are only part of a budget. Flights, seasonal demand and where you sleep can outweigh the local price level, so compare total trip cost before treating a low index as a saving. Our page on honeymoon on a budget covers how to think about trade-offs between price and comfort.

On a stay of a week or more, an apartment with a kitchen lets you cook some meals, which can cut food spending wherever local markets are cheap. Our guide to whether serviced apartments are cheaper long term explains when that holds. The table below shows our own median nightly price for stays in the countries discussed, sorted from lowest.