A new affordability index for the iPhone 17 Pro highlights how uneven global purchasing power remains. The metric measures how many working days an average employee needs to buy Apple’s flagship smartphone. At the top of the ranking, workers in Switzerland and Luxembourg need just 3 days, followed by the United States, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway at 4 days, and countries like Germany, Canada, Australia, and France at 5–6 days.
Southern and Eastern Europe sit in the middle. Spain requires 9 days, Czechia 12, Poland 17, Portugal 24, and Hungary 27 days of work to afford the device, reflecting lower wage levels despite similar retail prices.
The gap widens sharply in emerging markets. Buying an iPhone 17 Pro takes 32 days in Chile, 45 in Malaysia, 61 in Thailand, 77 in Brazil, 89 in Türkiye, 99 in Vietnam, 101 in the Philippines, and a staggering 160 days in India, turning a consumer gadget into a long-term financial goal.
