How long does it take to buy a Big Mac?

The folks at the Asian Labour News have created a Big Mac index, which asks the eternal question: How long does it take employees at McDonalds restaurants in the Asia-Pacific region to earn enough money to purchase a Big Mac at their own place of work?

The scale is quite illuminating:

Australia —17 minutes; New Zealand — 28 minutes; Hong Kong — 41 minutes; Malaysia — 1 hour, 26 minutes; South Korea — 1 hour, 29 minutes; Philippines — 2 hours, 19 minutes; Thailand — 2 hours, 45 minutes; China — 3 hours, 58 minutes; Sri Lanka — 5 hours, 53 minutes; India — 8 hours, 34 minutes; and the winner is Pakistan, where it takes a McDonalds worker 14 hours, 14 minutes to buy a lousy burger.

Rest easy carnivores in the U.S. it only takes you about half an hour to make enough wages to pay for your heart attack special.