At the other end of the scale lies Pakistan, the cheapest market, with Costa Rica, India, Bulgaria and Panama next.

Esomar hasn’t carried out a global prices study since 2007, and while prices on the whole would have been expected to rise in that time through inflation, Esomar notes that the 2010 study found “relative stability in prices”.

In fact it found most of the global medians for particular types of projects lower than they were in 2007. “This is surprising, even allowing for the recent financial crises,” said the industry association. It points to a number of factors affecting the overall trend, including increased participation from lower-cost countries, growing use of online research across the globe and differing exchange rates.

However, Esomar notes, “there have been some ‘real’ reductions in the prices quoted for CATI research, perhaps due to reduced margins or to reduced costs”, while some countries, such as Italy and Spain, “appear to be genuinely quoting lower costs”.

Director general Finn Raben (pictured) said: “The increasing application of the internet in our industry coupled with the recent economic challenges and the subsequent impact on international currency exchanges have proven to be significant catalysts on pricing levels.”

The Global Prices Study is available to download here.