The cost of living in Bogota is high compared to the minimum wage, according to a report presented by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
A bogatano earning the legal minimum wage earns 2,038 pesos (US$1.04) per hour, 16,666 pesos (US$8.53) per day and 134,000 pesos (US$68.59) per week according to the report.
A McDonalds Big Mac burger in Colombia costs 6,000 pesos, so a person earning minimum wage must work 3 hours to be able to buy one. To buy an 8 Gb iPod nano costs almost three weeks’ salary.
However the report also found that Bogota’s average hourly wage of US$3.40 is higher than other Latin American capital cities such as Buenos Aires’ average of US$ 3.30 and Santiago de Chile and Mexico City’s of US$3.20.
The study also found that Bogota has one of the highest unemployment rates in Latin America with 12.4%, followed by Sao Paulo (Brasil) 10%, Santiago de Chile 9.7%, Lima (Peru) 9.3%, Buenos Aires (Argentina) 7.8% Quito (Ecuador) 7%, Río de Janeiro (Brasil) 6.6% y México 6.4%.