The Burrow
Oct 28, 2024
From the sunny shores of the Mediterranean and Gibraltar to the chilly peaks and mountains of central Switzerland, across the world engagement rings are seen as an enduring symbol of love and commitment.
Indeed, for many people across the world, receiving an engagement ring marks the first step towards marrying that very special person we want to spend the rest of our lives with.
However, as any would-be proposer knows, engagement rings can be prohibitively expensive. So expensive in fact that they often cost the equivalent of several months’ salary to purchase.
With that in mind then – just which countries across Europe, Canada, Australia and the US spend the highest percentage of their salary on engagement rings overall?
To find out, we ranked various countries based on the average cost of buying an engagement ring there, and how this compares to the average citizen’s salary, before providing a percentage total of their salary that would be required to purchase an engagement ring locally.
Not only that, but we also looked at which gemstones were the most popular for engagement rings. And given that such a gift is an expensive investment, we’ve also highlighted the key steps to take when getting your engagement ring insured with a home and contents insurance policy.
Keep reading to find out what we discovered!
Despite it often being a key topic of discussion for longtime couples in many Western countries, particularly places such as the UK and France, the overall spread of our rankings took us from one side of Europe to the other, as you’ll soon see:
First off for the countries spending the most on engagement rings, we have Portugal, where the average citizen spends as much as 216% of their monthly salary when looking to buy a middle-priced ring, with the average engagement ring costing around $4,825 AUD.
However, those in Portugal looking to really splash out could be spending as much as $6,755 for a high-end ring, though people planning to buy on a budget can still find engagement rings in the lower price range of $2,895.
Given this sizeable range in prices, it’s not hard to see why Portugal placed so high on our list. And with a lower salary of $2,239, lower than many other countries we examined; this only exacerbates such price disparities.
Moving to second place and jumping all the way over to the other side of the continent, we have Hungary, where most citizens will be pleased to hear that local ring prices are that much lower than Portugal’s. In fact, the average price of a mid-level Hungarian engagement ring is only $3,860 AUD, though this still equates to 189% of the average monthly salary.
Better yet, Hungarian engagement rings on the cheaper side of the spectrum cost as little as $2,316 – the lowest cost of any engagement ring in this region besides Romania’s $1,544 – while more expensive rings tend to cap out at around $5,404.
Interestingly, and as we’ll see later, Hungarian ring prices are practically identical to those in Slovakia and Croatia (which placed 5th and 7th on our list respectively), so why did Hungary place second overall? Well, as it turns out, the average Hungarian salary is only slightly lower than Portugal’s at $2,040, meaning citizens wind up having to save a similar amount despite lower ring prices.
Finally, for our last unenviable podium position, we’re heading to the most famous country in the Mediterranean – Italy, where locals spend an average of 167% of their salary purchasing an average-priced engagement ring – which tends to be priced at a whopping $5,790!
Naturally, this sizable price for a middle-of-the-road engagement ring means that the higher prices are just as eye-opening, with high-cost engagement rings costing as much as $8,106, while low-cost engagement rings can still set Italians back as much as $3,474.
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news for any Italians thinking of buying an engagement ring in the near future, as the average Italian salary was $3,458, giving them some wiggle room when it comes to saving for this romantic gesture.
Moving back into Northern Europe and past Hungary, our fourth-place country is Poland, where the average salary spent on an engagement ring is around 161% – not much lower than Italy.
However, unlike in Italy, where ring prices are very high, Poland’s ring prices actually mirror those of Portugal, equating to a cost of $4,825, $6,755, and $2,895 respectively for medium-, high-, and low-priced engagement rings.
So, if Poland’s ring prices match those of Portugal, why is it that they placed that much lower overall? The truth lies in the average salary for Poland, which is higher than Portugal’s at $2,992, allowing Poles more freedom in how they go shopping for their ring of choice.
Last, but not least, we’re heading back to Central Europe to round out our top five, specifically to Slovakia, where the average citizen spends 158% of their monthly salary in order to purchase an engagement ring.
In the same vein as in Hungary, engagement rings here are typically priced once again at $3,860, $2,316, and $5,404 AUD respectively. But Slovakians also tend to have a higher salary than Hungarians at $2,448.
As a result, Slovakia was able to save itself from a much higher spot in our ranking, letting them take advantage of the lower prices presented in their country compared to those that placed higher.
With the top five countries in Europe spending the most on engagement rings covered, how does the rest of the world compare? What is the cost of engagement rings like in the US and Australia?
Well, for the US, the average salary percentage spent on engagement rings is 132%, with an average ring costing a staggering $11,580 – more than any price in our top 10. However, Americans also benefit from having a substantial average salary of $8,749 AUD, making saving that much easier for them.
It’s also a similar story for Australia, where the average percentage of salary spent equates to 109% for a medium-priced ring of $8,106, thanks to an average salary of $7,430.
Finally, Canadians will be absolutely chuffed to hear that, while their average salary percentage spent on engagement rings matches Australia at 109%, lower average ring prices of $6,176 mean that the lower overall Canadian salary of $5,648 makes buying an engagement ring more than feasible.
Now that we’ve looked at where in the world engagement rings are the most expensive, we thought it would be worth considering which gemstones were most popular for use in this sort of ring, and whether or not this might play an impact in their cost.
Perhaps unexpectedly, based on tradition and search data, the most popular gemstone for engagement rings in Britain, Australia, and the US, was diamond. This was also true for Indonesia, and given that this country placed 7th on our ranking it could help to explain their high position.
However, despite diamonds being classically associated with engagement rings, their overall popularity seems to have been vastly undermined in recent years by a rising interest in Emeralds, which accounted for being the most popular gemstone of choice in engagement rings for the rest of the countries on our list.
Given that an engagement ring can be an expensive investment for the vast majority of us, it goes without saying that, correctly insuring this valuable and sought-after item of jewelry is very important.
Fortunately, this is rather easy to do – in fact, your ring may already be covered by your contents insurance. This sort of insurance can cover your ring being accidentally lost, stolen, or damaged. However, if your ring is worth more than the limit applied to your policy, then you should consider listing it as a separate item.
Naturally, this sort of thing has the potential to increase your insurance premiums, but as Adrian Taylor, Executive General Manager of General Insurance at Compare the Market points out:
“For an item as expensive and meaningful as an engagement ring, getting the right insurance is absolutely essential. It can be incredibly distressing to lose such a treasured item, not to mention the loss you might feel should it be stolen at any point.
“If you want to ensure you also have cover when wearing the ring outside of the home, consider specified personal effects cover. This is an add-on to a policy that can cover accidental damage or loss when away from home.
“Better yet, this sort of insurance may even cover the loss of your ring when you’re abroad, depending on your policy inclusions, making purchasing such a policy an obvious choice if you want that peace of mind when it comes to protecting your treasured possessions.
“In any case, it’s important to read your policy’s Product Disclosure Statement and understand the level of cover that you have.”
So, there you have it, that was a look into which countries spend the most on their engagement rings, as well as a few tips on why getting insurance for your engagement ring is so important.
Factors & Sources:
Average engagement ring cost – https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/engagement-ring-cost-by-country
Pinterest data – keywordtool.io
Average salary – https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_price_rankings?itemId=105
Methodology:
A list of 47 countries was made based on the sources. We gathered the median spend on an engagement ring, based on the data from World Population Review for each country. We then calculated the percentage of the average monthly salary, people from each country are spending on an engagement ring. This was then used to rank countries spending the most on an engagement ring, ordering by highest to lowest.
The most popular engagement ring gemstones for each country have been identified from analysing Pinterest searches on keywordtool.io per country, using the prompt ‘[GEMSTONE] engagement ring’.
Exchange rate correct as of 30.09.24 and is converted from USD.
1 USD = 1.20 EUR
1 USD = 1.93 AUD