The compilers of the Big Mac Index estimated the dollar exchange rate at 23 rubles

The Economist magazine, based on the latest Big Mac Index , concluded that the Russian ruble is the most undervalued currency among those analyzed by the authors. According to the publication's calculations, the official exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar is understated by 70%.

In Russia, as of January 2022, a McDonald's burger costs 135 rubles, and in the US it costs $5.81, or about 444 rubles. Fair, according to the compilers, would be the rate of 23.24 rubles per dollar, while the official rate on February 3 is 76.48 rubles per dollar.

In addition to the ruble, the Turkish lira (67.9%), the Indonesian rupiah (59.3%), the Malaysian ringgit (58.9%) and the Romanian leu (58.6%) were in the top five most undervalued currencies.

Among the overvalued currencies were the Norwegian krone (overvalued by 10%) and the Swiss franc (20.2%).

• The Economist has been calculating the Big Mac Index since 1986. It was intended as an informal way to compare currencies. It is based on the idea of ​​purchasing power parity, according to which the same set of goods or services can be bought for the same amount in different currencies of the world.
• The burger from McDonald's was taken as a conditional standard, since its composition does not change from country to country. The "Big Mac Index" allows you to calculate how much the official exchange rate differs from the "real" - determined by the cost of a burger.
• The Economist in 2019 already called the ruble the most undervalued currency. Then the magazine calculated the "Big Mac Index" for the Russian currency, based on the cost of a burger of 110 rubles, although in fact it cost no less than 135 rubles.