In short
Of the 17 products we compared, 3 are cheaper in Japan and 14 in Türkiye (US dollars, same unit).
Product by product
| Product | Unit | Japan | Türkiye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 L | 1.49 $ | 1.05 $ |
| Eggs | 10 pieces | 2.03 $ | 1.79 $ |
| Rice | 1 kg | 3.66 $ | 1.62 $ |
| Pasta | 500 g | 1.21 $ | 0.73 $ |
| Yogurt | 1 kg | 2.61 $ | 1.94 $ |
| Drinking water | 1.5 L | 0.55 $ | 0.53 $ |
| Potatoes | 1 kg | 2.82 $ | 0.81 $ |
| Shampoo | 400 ml | 5.42 $ | 4.38 $ |
| Shower gel | 400 ml | 4.50 $ | 3.13 $ |
| Bar soap | 100 g | 0.58 $ | 0.59 $ |
| Liquid soap | 500 ml | 3.46 $ | 1.48 $ |
| Toothbrush | 1 piece | 0.99 $ | 1.60 $ |
| Toilet paper | 4 pieces | 1.45 $ | 0.68 $ |
| Paper towels | 2 pieces | 1.00 $ | 0.62 $ |
| Dishwashing liquid | 500 ml | 1.96 $ | 1.29 $ |
| Multi-purpose cleaner | 1 L | 8.09 $ | 1.22 $ |
| Trash bags | 20 pieces | 1.38 $ | 1.60 $ |
This does not say on its own that a country is "cheap" or "expensive": incomes, rent and services are not included. It shows the shelf price of the same kind of product in the same unit.
How we collected the prices
- Prices were read one by one from the public online pages of chain stores.
- Each row is for one reference unit of that type of product; where we have several prices we use the median.
- We leave out promotional, members-only and out-of-stock prices; in-store prices and neighbourhoods can differ.
- Details are on the Data & methodology page.