Where Is the iPhone Really the Most Expensive?

The same iPhone 17 costs an average Swiss worker about 19 hours of pay. In Mexico it's about 165 hours. We took Apple's own price in each country on 5 October 2026 and divided it by the average hourly wage, using OECD figures so every country in the main ranking is measured the same way. So is Apple charging some countries more? Mostly not. Take the tax off and the price is close to the same almost everywhere. What changes is tax, the currency, and above all pay. Outside the OECD we use each country's official figures or the ILO's, and we don't rank them against the others. The formula is at the end, so you can work out your own number. Chapters 0:00 Same phone, different work 0:44 How we measured it 2:01 The fastest countries 2:38 What decides the number 3:05 The middle of the map 3:52 Where it costs the most 4:40 Is Apple charging more? 5:25 Across the border 5:56 Outside the OECD 7:41 The September price rise 8:12 Buying abroad? 8:47 Work out your own number Sources Apple Store US, iPhone 17 (5 Oct 2026): https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone... Apple Store Germany: https://www.apple.com/de/shop/buy-iph... Apple Store India: https://www.apple.com/in/shop/buy-iph... OECD, average annual wages (2025): https://sdmx.oecd.org/public/rest/dat... MacRumors: Apple raises iPhone 17 prices (Sep 2026): https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/09/... ECB euro reference rates (5 Oct 2026): https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurof... Tax Foundation: US state and local sales tax rates: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/st... Singapore Ministry of Manpower, Labour Force 2025: https://stats.mom.gov.sg/iMAS_Tables1... Hong Kong government: median wage, May-June 2025: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/2... Taiwan DGBAS: 2025 earnings: https://eng.dgbas.gov.tw/News_Content... China National Bureau of Statistics: 2025 urban wages: https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/Pres... IBGE PNAD Continua, Q2 2026 (Brazil): https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br... Apple online stores in each country (prices checked 5 Oct 2026): https://www.apple.com/choose-country-... Apple Newsroom: iPhone 17 launch prices (Sep 2025): https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/0... Swiss Federal Tax Administration: VAT rates: https://www.estv.admin.ch/estv/en/hom... Türkiye: Special Consumption Tax Law No. 4760: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMet... Türkiye: imported phone registration (MCKS): https://www.mcks.gov.tr/ ILOSTAT, average hourly earnings (SDG 8.5.1): https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicat... Credits Stock footage: Pexels, Pixabay Maps: Natural Earth (public domain) #iPhone17 #Economics #Maps