Cost of living comparison

 Banjul, Gambia
compared to
 Lilongwe, Malawi
Lilongwe vs. Banjul Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 6.5 times more expensive than Banjul.

Restaurants
pay 46.5% less in Lilongwe
Groceries
pay 44.7% more in Lilongwe
Transportation
pay 13.1% more in Lilongwe
Housing
pay 61.3% more in Lilongwe
Childcare
pay 33.4 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.4% more in Lilongwe

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Banjul. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lilongwe.

Lilongwe vs. Banjul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Banjul, you would:

pay 46.5% less for restaurants

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.96
GMD358.19
$3.46
MWK5,986.55
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.29
GMD454.14
??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.66
GMD120.03
$0.91
MWK1,583.27

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pay 44.7% more for groceries

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Bread
1 loaf
$0.65
GMD47.10
$1.41
MWK2,445.39
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.15
GMD227.07
$7.88
MWK13,634.33
Milk (1 gallon) $5.21
GMD375.65
$5.24
MWK9,059.37

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pay 13.1% more for transportation

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.01
GMD289.49
$6.43
MWK11,121.38
Monthly public transit pass $6.55
GMD472.63
$4.32
MWK7,478.61
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $2,727.27
GMD196,792.36
??

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pay 61.3% more for housing

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$46.62
GMD3,363.97
$62.37
MWK107,919.78
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $102.56
GMD7,400.44
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $52.91
GMD3,818.11
$67.61
MWK116,993.62

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pay 33.4 times more for childcare

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $6.99
GMD504.60
$350.00
MWK605,633.36
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $139.86
GMD10,091.92
$2,349.49
MWK4,065,506.09

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pay 14.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.32
GMD239.54
$1.08
MWK1,869.13
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.08
GMD150.28
$3.21
MWK5,552.86
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.71
GMD123.63
$1.59
MWK2,745.31

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.00
GMD4,040.80
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.34
GMD3,199.45
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$99.43
GMD7,174.59
??

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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: April 2025
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