South African has officially been revealed as the fourth most expensive country to die in, following research done by life insurance provider, Sun Life.
Their research suggests it costs an average of R26 000 to host a funeral in South Africa, this is 13% of the average salary, the fourth highest percentage spend in the world.
Much of the cost involved in a funeral depends on the traditions, culture and religions in an area. Countries with more beliefs that involve the burying and laying to peace of the dead generally rack up a higher funeral bill.
South Africa is a rainbow nation, filled with different cultures, people and beliefs which leads the country to also highly value a number of specific burial traditions.
On average South Africa’s funeral costs are 3% higher than the global trend. Sun Life’s research takes into account the cost of dying in each country; compared to the average cost of living and income earned.
In second place is China (45.4%) followed by Germany (16.4%), with Japan (68.3%) coming in as the most expensive country to die in worldwide. The Netherlands ranked as the fifth most expensive country to die in with residents spending 12.9% of their income on funerals.
The most affordable countries to die in are Russia (3.1%), Poland (2.3%) and Denmark at 2.4%.
According to Briefly.com one of the main contributing factors towards the high cost of dying in South Africa is the local tendency to spend more on the dead.
South Africans seem to have been dealt a bad hand when it comes to both living and dying as thousands struggle to stay afloat this year amid the nationwide lockdown effects and constant unemployment issues.
