Cost of living in North Macedonia
41.0 with the United States at 100
Prices in North Macedonia are 59% cheaper than the United States, and it ranks 133rd of 204 countries by price level (dearest first). Figures are for 2025.
Against New Zealand it is 54% cheaper.
Two agencies agree. For 2024, the World Bank's figure works out at 37.7 and Eurostat's at 39.5 — a gap of 1.8 points. Two independent programmes landing within 5 points is the strongest evidence available that the level is right.
Compared with its region
North Macedonia against the Europe & Central Asia countries closest to it on price level.
- North Macedonia 41.0
- Armenia 41.0
- Kosovo 40.6
- Georgia 39.7
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 44.3
- Turkiye 45.0
- Kazakhstan 36.7
- Romania 48.8
- Albania 49.2
SOURCE·World Bank — International Comparison Program·PPP conversion factor for household final consumption, and the official market exchange rate. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
What is dear and what is cheap
Eurostat prices 19 spending categories separately for North Macedonia (2024), again with the United States at 100. This is where a national average stops being one number: a country can be cheap to eat in and expensive to drive in.
- Alcoholic drinks 98.7
- Milk, cheese and eggs 91.2
- Clothing and footwear 80.2
- Meat 79.1
- Non-alcoholic drinks 78.3
- Fish 76.4
- Food and non-alcoholic drinks 73.4
- Furnishings and household equipment 68.7
- Communication 68.7
- Bread and cereals 66.5
- Transport 66.5
- Recreation and culture 62.6
- Fruit and vegetables 60.0
- Restaurants and hotels 49.5
- Tobacco 37.8
- Housing, water, electricity and fuel 37.8
- Health 33.7
- Overall consumption (incl. government-funded services) 33.2
- Education 24.6
SOURCE·Eurostat — purchasing power parities (prc_ppp_ind)·Price level indices by consumption category, published on an EU27=100 basis and rebased here to US=100. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
What this figure is, and is not
- It is an index, not a price. 41.0 means the general level of consumer prices, with the US at 100. It is not a shopping bill and this site never quotes one.
- It is national, not city. Skopje is almost certainly dearer than this. National averages cannot answer a city question.
- It is not your budget. What you actually spend depends on rent, transport and habits far more than on the national average.
Compare North Macedonia with another country
Every pairing below is a page of its own, with the category detail side by side. Nearest on price level first.
How the price level is worked out
- The World Bank publishes a purchasing power parity for household consumption — how much local currency buys the same basket as one US dollar — and the official market exchange rate for the same year.
- The price level is simply PPP ÷ exchange rate × 100. If a basket needs 1.50 New Zealand dollars per US dollar of purchasing power but the market hands you 1.65 New Zealand dollars for that dollar, New Zealand's prices sit at 1.50 ÷ 1.65 = 91% of the US level.
- Nothing is modelled, smoothed or estimated. You can reproduce every number on this site from two public figures.
- Where Eurostat also publishes a price level for the same country and year, the two are compared and the gap is printed — including when they disagree.
SOURCE·World Bank — International Comparison Program·PPP conversion factor for household final consumption, and the official market exchange rate. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026
SOURCE·World Bank ICP PPPs + Eurostat price level indices·price levels derived as PPP ÷ exchange rate, see method·REVIEWED AUG 2026
