Cost of living comparison

Gambia

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Gambia Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 6.0 times more expensive than Gambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 17.8% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 34.5% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 4.7 times more in Malawi
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Malawi
Childcare: pay 30.6 times more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.8% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 24.9% less in Malawi

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

Malawi vs. Gambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Gambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.8% less for restaurants

	Gambia	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.96 GMD357.41	$4.32 MWK7,494.74	-12.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.29 GMD453.15	$9.04 MWK15,683.98	+43.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.66 GMD119.77	$0.87 MWK1,512.05	-47.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 GMD68.31	$0.43 MWK750.69	-54.4%
Average			-17.8%

Gambia vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.5% more for groceries

	Gambia	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.65 GMD46.99	$1.36 MWK2,366.81	+109.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.15 GMD226.57	$4.82 MWK8,356.21	+53.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.21 GMD374.84	$4.51 MWK7,827.43	-13.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 GMD143.50	$2.31 MWK3,999.89	+15.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.27 GMD91.35	$1.93 MWK3,339.52	+51.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 GMD68.51	$1.03 MWK1,794.51	+8.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 GMD41.87	$0.81 MWK1,404.13	+39.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 GMD60.90	$1.12 MWK1,940.10	+32.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 GMD45.68	$0.53 MWK914.14	-16.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 GMD30.45	$0.72 MWK1,248.08	+70.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 GMD32.73	$0.59 MWK1,016.74	+29.0%
Average			+34.5%

Gambia vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.7 times more for transportation

	Gambia	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.01 GMD288.86	$6.19 MWK10,731.25	+54.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.55 GMD471.60	$4.32 MWK7,494.48	-34.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$2,727.27 GMD196,363.63	$35,669.17 MWK61,852,226.56	+1207.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.94 GMD427.97	$20.40 MWK35,378.74	+243.2%
Average			+367.9%

Gambia vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Gambia	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.62 GMD3,356.64	$186.12 MWK322,750.31	+299.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$102.56 GMD7,384.32	$202.19 MWK350,601.13	+97.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$52.91 GMD3,809.79	$98.76 MWK171,260.10	+86.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$24.06 GMD1,732.62	$41.29 MWK71,591.98	+71.6%
Average			+138.6%

Gambia vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 30.6 times more for childcare

	Gambia	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$6.99 GMD503.50	$354.75 MWK615,162.05	+4973.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$139.86 GMD10,069.93	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,260.39	+949.5%
Average			+2961.2%

Gambia vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Gambia	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 GMD239.02	$1.12 MWK1,941.15	-66.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.08 GMD149.95	$2.91 MWK5,051.17	+39.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.71 GMD123.36	$1.59 MWK2,751.14	-7.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.48 GMD1,762.24	$51.33 MWK89,014.37	+109.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 GMD251.75	$3.95 MWK6,850.48	+13.0%
Average			+17.8%

Gambia vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.9% less for clothing

	Gambia	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.00 GMD4,032.00	$45.22 MWK78,420.83	-19.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.34 GMD3,192.48	$34.94 MWK60,593.01	-21.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.43 GMD7,158.96	$59.17 MWK102,606.51	-40.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.99 GMD6,263.28	$70.71 MWK122,606.44	-18.7%
Average			-24.9%

Gambia vs. Malawi - 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: March 2025

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