Surveying Cigarette Prices Around the World

Last February, Egypt’s Finance Ministry announced an increase in the cost of imported cigarettes (such as Marlboro, Merit and L&M) by a margin of 1-1.5 EGP, and locally made cigarettes by a margin of 0.50-0.75 EGP. The news sent shockwaves of anger throughout Egypt, a country in which 15% of the population (13 million people) and 60% of men are smokers according to statistics from the state run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

So how do prices in Egypt measure up to prices in other countries? Let’s take a quick look at the current average price of a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in countries around the world:

(Countries are ordered from best to worst in the world to be a smoker, as determined by the ratio of the cost of one pack of Marlboro cigarettes to GDP per capita)

When compared to GDP per capita, the price of cigarettes in Egypt is far more prohibitive than places like the U.S. and Italy, but also other Arab countries like the KSA and UAE.

WE SAID THIS: Maybe it’s time to pack up and move to Qatar…