The 2019 iPhone Index. Who Can Afford the New Apple Gadget?

This is an archived report. The latest ranking is available here.

The latest analysis by Picodi.com juxtaposes the price of iPhone 11 Pro and average salaries in several dozen countries around the world.

Apple’s pricing policy is causing more and more astonishment every year and is a beloved inspiration for internet memes. This is proof that sense of humour is not dependent on wealth: American jokes are also relevant in South Africa.

After the September presentation of Apple’s new devices, the analytical team of Picodi.com decided to compare an average salary in selected countries with the price of an iPhone 11 Pro (the 64GB model) in order to count the number of workdays required to buy it.

The official price of the iPhone 11 Pro (64GB) in South Africa is going to be R14,999. Assuming that, according to Statistics South Africa, the average gross salary in this country is R20855 (R17910.64 net), a statistical South African would have to work for 17.6 days to afford this year’s iPhone (not counting living expenses). That is 9.3 days less than the previous year.

In the lead of the rank are Switzerland, the USA and Luxembourg, where the ratio of the iPhone’s price to the average salary is the most attractive. A statistical Swiss should be able to save up for iPhone 11 Pro in 4.8 days, an American – in 5.8 days, and a Luxembourger – in 6.7 days.

The reverse record belongs to Colombia: a statistical resident of this country would have to lay aside 89.7 days worth of wages to buy the iPhone. In countries like Thailand or India, the new gadget has got the value of 67.8 and 66.7 workdays, respectively.

Although the new iPhone can be a rather expensive gadget, it is possible to buy it cheaper through official resellers. All you have to do is sign up to Picodi.com and activate cashback while shopping in stores such as Loot, Ubuy and Amazon.

Methodology and Data Source

The iPhone Index 2019 has been calculated on the basis of iPhone 11 Pro prices announced publicly on local Apple or authorised seller websites. The average salaries come from the countries’ official ministry or statistical office pages. We divided the monthly wages by 21 – the average number of workdays in a month.

Public Use

Do you want to share our charts and graphs? Feel free to use the data and infographics from the report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage. If you have any questions, please contact us: research@picodi.com.