How every number is computed
AGI is built on one principle: every score is explainable, every formula is public, and every input is labelled live or seed. Nothing here is a black box — hover the ⓘ beside any number on the site to see the same definition you'll find below.
Data provenance
Big Mac prices & currency valuations
The Economist Big Mac index, cycle 2026-01-01, plus 26 years of history (2000–2026). Real prices in local currency and USD, and implied over/undervaluation vs the dollar.
Inflation, unemployment, health, lethal violence & GDP growth
Real national figures from World Bank Open Data (latest year): consumer-price inflation, the modelled ILO unemployment rate, life expectancy at birth (which sets the health-outcome score), the UNODC intentional-homicide rate (which sets the lethal-violence score — homicide only, not total crime), and real GDP growth (3-year average, which drives the opportunity score). These feed the risk, purchasing-power, opportunity and life-index scores directly. The same series power the /trends explorer and the per-country profiles.
All other indicators
Income, safety, mobility, education and the rest are illustrative sample values for the MVP, transitioning to licensed live feeds (World Bank, IMF, WHO, UNODC and others).
0–100, comparable
Scores are min-max normalized across the current 22-market seed set. Inverted metrics (cost of living, inflation, unemployment, housing, climate risk) are flipped so a better raw value always scores higher.
Independence. Scores are never influenced by partners, sponsors, or the markets being ranked. The engine is deterministic and the methodology is versioned in the open-source repository — github.com/bigbigboss67/agi. When a formula changes, the change is in the commit history.
Composite scores
The 0–100 headline scores, each a weighted blend of the indicators below.
Overall Score
A single 0–100 score summarizing how attractive a market looks across quality of life, spending power, growth opportunity, risk and business conditions.
Global Life Index
A broad read on quality of life in the market — affordability, safety, health, environment, infrastructure and more, in one number.
Purchasing Power
How far a resident's income actually stretches locally, combining how much they earn with how expensive the market is.
Big Mac Affordability
How many Big Macs an average local salary can buy versus other markets — a plain-language everyday-affordability gauge.
Opportunity
How promising the market looks for growth, blending real GDP growth, business climate, spending power and tourism.
Risk
How much could go wrong operationally in this market — inflation, joblessness, climate exposure, a weakening currency, weak governance and crime.
Economic Strength
The near-term strength of the local economy — income, jobs, inflation and how business-friendly conditions are.
Consumer Readiness
How ready and able local consumers are to spend — purchasing power, income and digital adoption.
Business Environment
How favorable local conditions are for operating a business — regulation, ease of doing business and infrastructure.
Data Confidence
How reliable the underlying data for this market is thought to be — lower means treat the numbers with more caution.
Big Mac · live
Sourced live from The Economist's Big Mac dataset — real prices and currency valuations.
Big Mac Price (local)
The price of a McDonald's Big Mac in the market's own currency.
Big Mac Price (USD)
The Big Mac's price converted into US dollars, so it can be compared across countries.
Macs per Salary
How many Big Macs an average local monthly salary could buy — a quick gut-check on real purchasing power.
Work Minutes per Mac
How many minutes of work at the local average wage it takes to earn one Big Mac.
Currency Valuation
Whether the local currency looks over- or under-valued, based on Big Mac prices versus the US benchmark.
World Bank · live
Real national figures from World Bank / UNODC (latest year) — these feed the scores directly.
Inflation
The annual rate at which prices are rising in this market.
Unemployment
The share of the local workforce that is out of work.
Health
Population health outcomes, 0–100 — how healthy and long-lived people are in this market.
Lethal violence
Lethal-violence level, 0–100 (higher = worse). Based on the real homicide rate — this measures lethal violence specifically, NOT total or property crime, so low-homicide markets score low even where other crime exists.
GDP growth
How fast the economy is expanding — the real (inflation-adjusted) annual growth rate.
Raw indicators
The underlying inputs. Currently illustrative seed values pending licensed live feeds.
Net Income
The average net monthly salary in this market, converted to US dollars.
Cost of Living
How expensive everyday life is in this market, on a 0–100 scale (higher = pricier).
Population Growth
How fast the local population is growing (or shrinking) each year.
Safety
How safe the market feels for residents and visitors, 0–100 (higher = safer).
Education
The quality of the local education system, 0–100.
Happiness
A general well-being / life-satisfaction score for residents, 0–100.
Infrastructure
The quality of roads, utilities and physical infrastructure, 0–100.
Governance
How stable and well-run local institutions and government are, 0–100.
Digital Readiness
How advanced local digital infrastructure and adoption are — internet, payments, connectivity — on a 0–100 scale.
Business Environment
How friendly local regulation and market conditions are for running a business, 0–100.
Tourism
How much tourist traffic the market sees — a proxy for visitor-driven demand, 0–100.
Climate Risk
Exposure to climate-related hazards such as heat, flooding and storms, 0–100 (higher = worse).
Mobility
The quality of public transit and ease of getting around the city, 0–100.
Air Quality
How clean the local air is, 0–100 (higher = cleaner).
Migration
How attractive the market is to inbound migrants, 0–100 (higher = more inbound migration).
Interest Rate
The central bank's policy interest rate in this market.
Public Debt
Government debt as a share of the size of the economy.
Housing Price
The purchase price of housing, per square meter, in US dollars.
Monthly Rent
The average monthly rent for a typical home, in US dollars.
Derived concepts & engines
How the scores combine into decisions, suggestions and comparisons.
Industry Fit
How well a specific industry (e.g. Retail, Healthcare) suits this market, based on the pillars that matter most to it.
Forecast
A 3-scenario outlook (Conservative / Base / Growth) for how the overall score could move, with rough probabilities for each.
Decision Score
The Sector Decision Report's headline score for entering a given industry in a given market, blending fit, opportunity and risk.
Affordability Check
Whether a specific product's price is realistic for local buyers, expressed as months of local income needed to afford it.
Weighted Score (WeightLab)
WeightLab's custom score — lets you re-weight the pillars yourself to match what matters to you, instead of the fixed overall formula.
Entry Window
How open the opportunity currently looks for entering a given sector in a given market, and which way it is moving.
Relocate Score
How far a salary actually goes in a city, combined with day-to-day quality of life — for comparing places to live and work.
RE Entry Score
How favorable it looks to enter this property market now (buy / invest / develop), 0–100.
Valuation
Whether homes are cheap or expensive relative to the market's own history — the overvaluation read.
Demand
The underlying pull on housing — economic momentum and people moving in.
Financing
How cheap it is to borrow to buy or build — the cost of capital.
Map Coverage
The shading shown for countries that aren't one of the 22 fully-scored markets, so the whole world map has some color.
Normalization
How raw numbers (like income or inflation) get turned into comparable 0–100 scores.
The Big Mac Index is a supporting indicator. It does not measure housing, does not prove causation, does not cover every country, and is never used alone to reach a conclusion. It is combined with income, inflation, rent, purchasing power and the other indicators above.
Explore it in action: the map & scoreboard, sector reports, entry windows, or the relocate calculator.