Tokyo residents have the highest purchasing power in the world, overriding residents in Los Angeles, London, New York and Sydney, according to a new survey released on Wednesday by Swiss banking giant UBS.

The city was ranked number one in the survey which used the "Big Mac' sandwich as its benchmark. The survey aimed to eliminate variables such as exchange rates by calculating the "weighted net hourly wage in 14 professions' and divided it into the local price of a product that was available globally. The bank chose McDonalds' world famous burger.

Wages only become meaningful in relation to prices - that is, what can be bought with the money earned, UBS said in its "Prices and Earnings' report

The survey highlighted the significant difference between a first and third world countries as in Nairobi, Kenya, one would need to work one and a half hours in order to purchase a burger with the Big Mac with the county' net hourly wage. In Tokyo, it takes a mere 10 minutes.

In the US, a maximum of 13 minutes' labor is needed in the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Miami. The survey recorded that on a global average, a person is required to work 35 minutes in order to buy a Big Mac.

UBS also compared wages ranking Copenhagen as the highest earning city, with an index of 118.2. The comparison was taken as the base with an index of 100. Oslo came second, followed by Zurich, Geneva and New York was ranked fifth.

Kenya New York Investment Los Angeles