Cost of living comparison

Asmara, Eritrea

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 4.4 times more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 58.5% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 30.3% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 44.5% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 31.4% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 22.1 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.5 times more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 30.7% less in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Asmara, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 58.5% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.14 ERN272.04	$4.17 CN¥29.97	-77.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$5.57 CN¥39.97	-7.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 ERN27.50	$0.50 CN¥3.56	-72.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 ERN20.00	$0.31 CN¥2.22	-76.8%
Average			-58.5%

Asmara vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.3% more for groceries

	Asmara	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.50 ERN7.50	$1.43 CN¥10.30	+186.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$7.31 CN¥52.47	+387.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.14 ERN92.11	$7.17 CN¥51.48	+16.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.52 ERN67.80	$1.74 CN¥12.48	-61.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$1.53 CN¥10.99	-87.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$0.92 CN¥6.59	-83.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.71 CN¥5.11	+22.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 ERN12.85	$0.89 CN¥6.37	+3.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ERN8.32	$0.58 CN¥4.18	+5.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 ERN11.94	$0.37 CN¥2.65	-53.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 ERN7.26	$0.47 CN¥3.38	-2.6%
Average			+30.3%

Asmara vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.5% more for transportation

	Asmara	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.83 ERN132.49	$4.36 CN¥31.31	-50.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$33.40 CN¥239.80	+317.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	$20,872.18 CN¥149,874.77	-68.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.73 ERN85.99	$4.59 CN¥32.97	-19.9%
Average			+44.5%

Asmara vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.4% more for housing

	Asmara	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$13.28 CN¥95.38	-93.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	$929.88 CN¥6,677.08	+95.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	$492.44 CN¥3,536.03	+23.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$21.03 ERN315.44	$42.04 CN¥301.87	+99.9%
Average			+31.4%

Asmara vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 22.1 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$763.49 CN¥5,482.35	+2954.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	$22,913.01 CN¥164,529.19	+1267.9%
Average			+2110.9%

Asmara vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$1.11 CN¥7.99	+11.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.77 ERN11.58	$3.60 CN¥25.87	+366.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ERN30.00	$3.48 CN¥24.98	+74.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$65.46 CN¥470.02	+142.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.10 ERN16.50	$8.35 CN¥59.95	+659.0%
Average			+250.7%

Asmara vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.7% less for clothing

	Asmara	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	$62.65 CN¥449.90	-24.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	$34.69 CN¥249.07	-53.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$83.45 CN¥599.24	-58.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	$107.64 CN¥772.89	+13.3%
Average			-30.7%

Asmara vs. Beijing - 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: May 2025

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