As the ninth richest country in the world, I think that we often forget how rich of a country we live in. Daily, people all around the country buy a coffee every morning, go shopping, go out to eat and so on. We are so caught up in our daily lives that we don't realize what the money that we spend on a daily basis could be worth to someone in another country. In the United States, $10 can buy us small things, such as two sub sandwiches, or a pack of socks.
Small things that cost $10 in one country, might be worth much more in another. Most of what I found product-wise was the same in every country including water, gasoline and food. As I've thought more and more about this topic through the week, I wanted to really look into what $10 would buy around the world, especially in some of the poorest places, and this is what I found.
1. Democratic Republic of Congo.
As the poorest country in the world, $10 can buy you a whole lot more in this country than it ever would in the U.S. With ten American dollars, you can buy 22 pounds of rice, 10 bottles of water, two bottles of imported beer or 8.33 liters of gasoline.
2. Madagascar.
3. Afghanistan.
This country in south central Asia is highly populated with over 31 million residents. Here, $10 is the average wage for a solider who is actively working for the Taliban. Ten dollars can buy 35 pounds of sugar in Kabul (the capital), 17 pounds of rice and almost three gallons of gasoline.
4. Niger.
Niger is home to over 17 million people, but 80 percent of it is covered by the Sahara Desert which causes overpopulation in the other 20 percent. The yearly salary is incredibly low, which causes the living cost to be much higher, so in this country, the value of a dollar is much less than that of an American dollar. Here, $10 could buy you one pack of cigarettes.
5. Burundi.
This country has a much lower population than some of the others, which at first I thought would make it more successful, but with a lack of education and government systems, more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. In this country, $10 U.S. dollars can buy you 5.5 pounds of rice, or just one meal at a fast food restaurant.
Looking at the difference that this money can make around the world really holds a different perspective. These are just some of the many places that have a dramatic difference in the values of a dollar compared to us in the United States. In some places, it could feed a family for more than a week, and in others, it is only good for one meal for one person. It really is amazing how much a ten dollar bill's value can vary across the globe.
