Rip-off Britain: these 10 things are cheaper abroad
Charlotte Irwin
05 October 2018
Everyday expense – how the UK compares
When we buy food, clothes, or even a car we typically want to get the lowest price for the best product. But how do prices for our everyday purchases compare to the rest of the world? Obviously, our comparatively high salaries help, but it's still fascinating to see how much more we pay for certain things. Read on to see if life could be cheaper, according to data from Numbeo's database cost of living data.
1. Beer
The cost of a pint is a classic – and contentious – British concern. A discussion over the wide range of prices for a pint of beer – from under £3 in Carlisle to over £5 in the capital – rarely fails to engage us Brits, especially over a drink. But despite the north-south discrepancies, on average a pint of beer (half a litre) will set you back in the region of £3.50 in the UK. But is it cheaper across the world?
1. Beer
Well, yes. In fact, it is possible to get a pint for less than £2. In Portugal, you could have over two pints of beer for the same price as the UK average, with a pint costing a very cheap – and enviable – £1.36. Likewise, a beer in Spain would only set you back £1.82. While one of the best beer bargains can be found in the Czech Republic where a pint is only £1.06 on average.
2. Coffee
The UK has gone from a nation of tea drinkers to a country in love with coffee. As of April 2018, Brits were drinking 95 million cups a day, according to the British Coffee Association, with the average person consuming around two cups a day. We tend to drink most of our coffee at home, but cafe culture is alive and well and Brits can expect to spend £2.56 on their fix for a regular cappuccino.
2. Coffee
But that £2.56 is a bit of a rip-off when you consider that a cappuccino in France is £2.38, and even more surprisingly coffee is much cheaper in the nation which gave cappuccino its name – Italy – where that milky coffee will only set you back £1.22.
3. Cars
As of December 2016, there were 37.3 million cars registered for road use in the UK – over half the number of the population – while the car manufacturing industry remains our top export as we approach Brexit. In the UK the cost of a Volkswagen Golf (or an equivalent new car) is £18,000, but are other countries getting a better deal?
3. Cars
In America, a similar car would be more than £1,000 cheaper at £16,844. Slightly closer to home, a car bought in Slovenia would also be cheaper at £16,352.15. However, while you will still save money by buying a car in the UK than in Germany and France, that is set to change when Brexit comes along; Ford, Vauxhall and Nissan are all raising the price of their cars due to the collapse of the pound and a shaky market.
4. Fuel
With so many cars, fuel is important, and in 2017 we used 47.2 billion litres according to HMRC. In the UK, on average, car fuel costs £1.21 per litre, so how does this compare?
4. Fuel
The cost of fuel in the UK is quite hefty if you compare this figure to the US where fuel costs as little as 54p a litre. In Austria, a litre of petrol will only cost you £1.07, while in Poland petrol prices are also lower at £1.01 per litre.
5. Cigarettes
Around 7.4 million people over the age of 18 smoked in 2017, that's 15.1% of adults in the UK. Universally acknowledged as bad for your health and one of the main, preventable causes of cancer, the fact a price of a packet of 20 cigarettes is £9.50 doesn't bother too many people. But how does it compare to the rest of the world?
5. Cigarettes
While not as expensive as the £10.45 charged in Ireland, cigarettes are often cheaper in other countries where smoking is more prevalent. For example in Andorra – the country which smokes the most according to Tobacco Atlas – a pack of cigarettes only costs £3.14. Likewise in Luxembourg, which is the second country on the Tobacco Atlas list, a packet is £4.94. Smoking is also cheaper in neighbouring European countries: in France a pack is only £6.63, while in Italy on average they only cost £4.
6. Cinema tickets
A trip to the cinema isn't as cheap as it used to be, and will set you back around £10 in the UK (even more in London). But this isn't putting British cinema-goers off, with 170.6 million admissions in 2017, up on the year before.
6. Cinema tickets
But going to the cinema can be much cheaper abroad. A ticket in France costs about £9.08, which is also the same average price in Ireland. It's even less in Italy where it costs £7.27. While watching something on the silver screen is over half the price of the UK in Croatia, which is as low as £4.28.
7. Milk
A litre of milk – the equivalent of two pints – is 89p on average in the UK. A litre is much cheaper in Australia (81p), Germany (64p), America (65p), Portugal (55p), and Croatia (71p), among others.
7. Milk
The price discrepancy between the UK and other countries is only set to get worse with Brexit looming and price hikes on groceries such as milk predicted. Also, the continuing popularity of alternative milks, such as almond and oat, has hit milk sales over the past few years and could affect the price.
8. Eggs
Brits like eating eggs. In 2017 we produced over 10 billion eggs, and ate as many as 12.9 billion. A box of dozen eggs costs £1.87 on average in the UK. But how does the UK compare with the rest of the world?
8. Eggs
Eggs can be cheaper abroad. In Croatia, you can save a few pennies on eggs as a box of 12 costs £1.79. While a good bargain can be found in Portugal at £1.52. However, the best deals on eggs are further afield. In Vietnam, 12 eggs are only 98p, and things get even better in India at 67p.
9. Jeans
Jeans are worth about £1.6 billion to the fashion market each year, with people spending nearly £60 on jeans each year. That's not a surprise as on average a pair of jeans like Levi 501s costs £56.35 in the UK. But could Brits be getting a better deal?
9. Jeans
In the US, a similar pair of jeans would be almost half that at £32.90. In China, the average price is nearly £10 less that of the UK at £46.87, while Australians can pick up a pair of jeans still for a relative snip at £54.78.
10. Nike trainers
The market for footwear is worth £54.5 billion in the UK, with a pair of mid-range Nike trainers setting you back about £60.77.
10. Nike trainers
That's pretty pricey considering a similar pair can go for £34.36 in Turkey. A slight bargain can even be found across the pond in the US, with trainers costing £57.36 on average.
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature