The Big Mac index was created by The Economist magazine 40 years ago as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity between different countries and currencies. The idea was that the Big Mac sold at McDonald’s is the same in every country. The price of the Big Mac should reflect the local price of ingredients, wages and other expenses. Therefore, even though the Big Mac burger is the same in every country, its price differs – and goes up, broadly reflecting price inflation. Last month Diageo pushed up the price of a pint of Guinness for sale to pubs by 7c.

Source: Irish Independent March 16, 2026 16:42 UTC