The cost of dying across the world

No matter where you live in the world, there is one fate which is inevitable for all of us. Many have wasted years trying to cheat it, but as Benjamin Franklin reputedly said, there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes.

Unfortunately for us, or perhaps our family and friends, there are certain inevitable costs when it comes to dying: the costs of burial or cremation, and of course, the funeral.

In some cases if you are unfortunate enough to be abroad when your time comes, there may be the additional expenditure on getting your body back to home turf.

Given the average cost of a funeral in the UK is now £4,417^* - an increase of 130% since 2004 - we were interested in looking at these costs around the world and comparing them to the average salary in each country, to find out where is the cheapest and most expensive place to die.

Average cost of dying worldwide chart

£22,320

Japan

£6,246

Germany

£5,858

USA

---

£5,440

Netherlands

£4,417

UK

£4,244

China

£4,102

Ireland

£3,915

New Zealand

£3,627

Belgium

£3,541

France

£3,173

Finland

£3,110

Australia

£2,970

Canada

£2,846

Austria

£2,675

Spain

£2,407

Norway

£2,385

Portugal

£2,331

Sweden

£1,679

Italy

£1,269

Slovenia

£1,250

South Africa

£1,005

Croatia

£973

Denmark

£817

Hungary

£762

Estonia

£739

Czech Rep.

£735

Slovakia

£673

Mexico

£595

Argentina

£491

Poland

£431

Colombia

---

£358

Brazil

£236

Russia

£96

India

Average percentage cost of salary chart

68.3%

Japan

45.4%

China

16.4%

Germany

---

13%

South Africa

12.9%

Netherlands

12.6%

UK

12.2%

New Zealand

12.1%

USA

11.8%

Portugal

11.7%

Croatia

10.8%

Ireland

10.1%

France

9.6%

Argentina

9.2%

Finland

9.1%

Belgium

8.7%

Spain

7.9%

Australia

7.8%

Canada

7.1%

Austria

6.9%

Sweden

5.9%

Norway

5.7%

Italy

5.5%

Mexico

4.5%

Slovenia

4.5%

Hungary

4.1%

Colombia

3.9%

Estonia

3.8%

Slovakia

3.6%

Czech Rep.

3.2%

Brazil

2.4%

India

---

2.4%

Denmark

2.3%

Poland

1.3%

Russia

How do these figures compare to the cost of living?

The average cost of dying across the world is around 10% of the average individual salary, but there are certain countries which seem to far exceed this - emphasising why taking precautions such as life insurance and funeral planning are so crucial.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as it is often noted for its expensive economy, Japan comes out as the most expensive place on the planet to die. The cost of burial and cremation in the country is more than two thirds (68.3%) of the average salary.

Interestingly, it hasn’t always been expensive to die in this part of the world. Traditionally in Japan, Buddhists up until the 19th century would partake in self-mummification which required the monk to remove all fat from the body around 3000 days ahead of their death.

Essentially the monks would starve themselves to death, before heading into a stone room whereby they would stop consuming anything at all and dehydrate their bodies into preserved mummies.

Slightly below Japan’s vast expense today is China, which costs on average just below half of the annual salary to pass away. However, it seems there are cheaper ways to die in China.

In the autonomous region of China, Tibet, many Tibetan monks today still choose a traditional buddhist method of burial, whereby corpses are seen as nothing more than an empty vessel and will leave the bodies out in the mountains to be eaten by passing wildlife.

Germany is the most expensive European country to die, but it sits far below the costs of the more expensive Asian countries, China and Japan, at only 16% cost of the overall average salary. Not everywhere in Asia is expensive to die however, with the cost of dying in India just a mere 2% of an average salary.

There are many ways to honour the dead in Indian hindu culture, a more unusual and now outdated one of which is Sati. This practice saw a widowed woman lay with her dead husband to be burned alive alongside him. The practice is now illegal, but similar rituals have been seen across multiple cultures and civilizations for generations.

Where does the UK sit amongst the rest?

The UK sits as the sixth most expensive place in the world to die, at 13% of the average salary. While geographically different, there are two countries similar to the UK sitting at 13%; South Africa and the Netherlands.

In South African culture, it is normal for all pictures, mirrors and reflective surfaces to be turned around during the grieving period, and it is custom for immediate family not to speak during the funeral.

Death practices in The Netherlands are more similar to the UK, although it is traditional to have their ritual on the sixth day after their death, regardless of whether burial or cremation is chosen.

We have compiled all of the data below, so you can see the full list of countries, the average salary and the percentage of the cost of dying below:

It’s clear there are a wide range of factors that influence the cost of funerals across the world such as the cultural expectations of what the average funeral looks like in that country, the overall costs of living in different regions and the benefits and contributions of different states towards funeral costs.

However, the principles are universal regardless of where you are in the world, preparation really is key and thinking about your funeral plans now can ensure your family and friends are as financially prepared as possible when the time comes.

Over 50’s Life Insurance is an affordable way to protect your loved ones from any unexpected costs when it comes to your funeral and can cost as little as 86p a week.