The Chicken Rice Index
Visualizing Singapore's purchasing power over the last 30 years using chicken rice as the benchmark currency
Inflation Timeline: Price vs Purchasing Power
Track how chicken rice prices have evolved alongside Singapore's median income. The red line shows the price per plate, while the green line shows how many plates you could buy with a month's salary.
Data from 1990 to 2024 • Source: SingStat CPI + Field Research
$2.22
1990 Price
per plate
$4.20
2024 Price
per plate
26.2%
Average Annual Increase
over 34 years
💡 The Good News: Your Purchasing Power Has Increased
Despite chicken rice prices rising from $2.22 in 1990 to $4.20 in 2024, the average Singaporean can actually afford more plates per month than before.
1990 Purchasing Power
653 plates
per month
2024 Purchasing Power
1,309 plates
per month
Data Sources: Singapore Department of Statistics (CPI), Ministry of Manpower (Income Data)
Base Price Research: Field survey of 50+ hawker centers and restaurants (December 2024)