Cost of living comparison

Colombo, Sri Lanka

compared to

Damascus, Syria

Damascus vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Damascus is 44.2% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 23.9% more in Damascus
Groceries: pay 26.4% less in Damascus
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in Damascus
Housing: pay 76.2% more in Damascus
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Damascus
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.7% less in Damascus
Clothing: pay 0.4% less in Damascus

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

Damascus vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Damascus instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.9% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Damascus
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.40 LKR1,017.07	$5.00 SYP65,010	+47.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.48 LKR2,237.55	$5.00 SYP65,010	-33.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 LKR221.21	$1.05 SYP13,652	+42.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 LKR116.96	$0.54 SYP7,086	+39.5%
Average			+23.9%

Colombo vs. Damascus - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.4% less for groceries

	Colombo	Damascus
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 LKR170.50	$0.63 SYP8,217	+11.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 LKR2,075.98	$1.67 SYP21,752	-75.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 LKR1,957.35	$4.05 SYP52,594	-38.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 LKR663.71	$1.97 SYP25,571	-11.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.38 LKR712.61	$3.01 SYP39,106	+26.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.28 LKR980.64	$0.46 SYP5,918	-86.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR152.72	$0.96 SYP12,544	+89.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.65 LKR791.78	$0.46 SYP5,963	-82.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 LKR158.49	$0.39 SYP5,065	-26.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR152.17	$0.27 SYP3,476	-47.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR163.32	$0.28 SYP3,593	-49.4%
Average			-26.4%

Colombo vs. Damascus - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Colombo	Damascus
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 LKR1,447.35	$15.92 SYP207,051	+229.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 LKR2,034.14	$17.00 SYP221,034	+150.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,303.89 LKR10,567,356.18	$18,500.00 SYP240,537,000	-47.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.13 LKR935.70	$11.00 SYP143,022	+251.9%
Average			+145.9%

Colombo vs. Damascus - Cost of transportation

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pay 76.2% more for housing

	Colombo	Damascus
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.40 LKR4,908.57	$66.75 SYP867,884	+307.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$297.60 LKR89,078.37	$282.23 SYP3,669,607	-5.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$180.09 LKR53,904.60	$145.72 SYP1,894,661	-19.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.85 LKR13,124.37	$53.53 SYP695,989	+22.1%
Average			+76.2%

Colombo vs. Damascus - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Damascus
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$28.60 LKR8,560.34	$48.33 SYP628,430	+69.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$586.98 LKR175,698.82	$1,650.00 SYP21,453,300	+181.1%
Average			+125.0%

Colombo vs. Damascus - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Damascus
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.04 LKR610.24	$1.25 SYP16,252	-38.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 LKR775.43	$1.27 SYP16,578	-50.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.34 LKR2,796.94	$3.00 SYP39,006	-67.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.89 LKR4,156.30	$13.30 SYP172,927	-4.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.40 LKR1,017.07	$3.00 SYP39,006	-11.7%
Average			-34.7%

Colombo vs. Damascus - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.4% less for clothing

	Colombo	Damascus
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.69 LKR8,887.16	$22.00 SYP286,044	-25.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.31 LKR6,678.76	$23.50 SYP305,547	+5.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.77 LKR20,584.61	$47.50 SYP617,595	-30.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.51 LKR11,226.89	$56.25 SYP731,362	+50.0%
Average			-0.4%

Colombo vs. Damascus - 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: June 2025

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