With more and more people in the UK struggling to pay for the desired send-off when a loved one passes away, the popularity of funeral plans has been increasing in recent years. It’s worth remembering, however, that if you lived elsewhere the cost could be far higher.
While the average cost of a British funeral is £3,284, in Japan a suitable send-off is likely to set you back a whopping £16,242. There are a great many differences in funerals around the world, and not all of them are related to the expense.
Perhaps as a result of a relative lack of available space, many British people choose cremation rather than burial these days. In China, a nation that is obviously far larger, around 3.3 million hectares of arable land is used to host ancestral graves.
In Ghana, the modern funeral is anything but a sombre, morbid affair. Many people are opting to go on their final journey in a fantasy coffin, which can resemble anything from an airplane to a bottle of beer.
Some of Australia’s aboriginal groups select the inside of trees as a final resting place, while in the USA mourners can pay their respects for friends and family members without leaving their cars thanks to the provision of drive-through funeral parlours.
