Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 0.4% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 15.4% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 2.8% more in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Lusaka
Housing: pay 49.8% less in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 16.0% more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.6% less in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 46.1% less in Lusaka

The cost of transportation, childcare, and groceries in Lusaka are more expensive than in Addis Ababa. Expenses including housing, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lusaka. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Lusaka.

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lusaka instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.4% less for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 ETB756.22	$7.21 ZMW200.08	+20.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.24 ETB785.87	$3.82 ZMW106.03	-38.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ETB98.94	$0.71 ZMW19.80	-9.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ETB63.29	$0.33 ZMW9.18	-34.1%
Average			-15.4%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8% more for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ETB151.44	$0.74 ZMW20.52	-38.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.85 ETB611.71	$3.64 ZMW100.88	-25.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 ETB766.12	$4.85 ZMW134.63	-20.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.65 ETB333.89	$1.92 ZMW53.40	-27.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.65 ETB711.62	$1.80 ZMW49.85	-68.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30 ETB416.09	$1.20 ZMW33.32	-63.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 ETB63.82	$0.60 ZMW16.75	+19.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 ETB135.90	$1.27 ZMW35.10	+17.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 ETB48.72	$0.56 ZMW15.63	+45.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB39.23	$0.96 ZMW26.52	+207.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ETB100.09	$0.67 ZMW18.69	-15.2%
Average			+2.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.88 ETB615.02	$4.77 ZMW132.22	-2.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 ETB1,260.36	$37.04 ZMW1,027.60	+270.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 ETB3,150,897.65	$8,004.53 ZMW222,096.11	-68.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.67 ETB461.92	$12.13 ZMW336.55	+231.0%
Average			+107.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.8% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$171.17 ETB21,573.15	$125.92 ZMW3,493.79	-26.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$645.10 ETB81,305.76	$214.42 ZMW5,949.44	-66.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$422.74 ETB53,280.70	$114.96 ZMW3,189.68	-72.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$124.84 ETB15,734.10	$83.50 ZMW2,316.87	-33.1%
Average			-49.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 16.0% more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$81.47 ETB10,268.56	$176.79 ZMW4,905.25	+117.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$43,916.67 ETB5,535,076.87	$6,570.42 ZMW182,305.02	-85.0%
Average			+16.0%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ETB126.04	$0.97 ZMW26.83	-3.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.15 ETB144.90	$2.07 ZMW57.53	+80.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 ETB504.14	$2.49 ZMW69.06	-37.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$90.59 ETB11,418.22	$41.21 ZMW1,143.48	-54.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.70 ETB844.44	$3.50 ZMW97.10	-47.8%
Average			-12.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.1% less for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.33 ETB6,091.74	$18.43 ZMW511.50	-61.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB9,473.70	$18.78 ZMW521.19	-75.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.84 ETB13,718.09	$90.18 ZMW2,502.06	-17.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.32 ETB15,038.82	$82.76 ZMW2,296.32	-30.6%
Average			-46.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025

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