Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 41.4% cheaper than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 68.0% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 38.8% less in Malawi
Transportation: pay 34.9% less in Malawi
Housing: pay 13.3% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 19.1% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.1% less in Malawi
Clothing: pay 55.6% less in Malawi

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, transportation, and childcare are lower in Malawi.

Malawi vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 68.0% less for restaurants

	Iceland	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.40 ISK2,508	$4.32 MWK7,517.36	-77.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.94 ISK2,191	$9.04 MWK15,731.32	-46.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81 ISK363	$0.87 MWK1,516.62	-69.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.02 ISK261	$0.43 MWK752.95	-78.6%
Average			-68.0%

Iceland vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.8% less for groceries

	Iceland	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95 ISK382	$1.36 MWK2,373.96	-53.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.27 ISK939	$4.82 MWK8,381.43	-33.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.01 ISK777	$4.51 MWK7,851.06	-24.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.42 ISK701	$2.31 MWK4,011.97	-57.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.51 ISK1,100	$1.93 MWK3,349.60	-77.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK158	$1.03 MWK1,799.92	-15.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 ISK133	$0.81 MWK1,408.36	-21.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK151	$1.12 MWK1,945.96	-4.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.87 ISK242	$0.53 MWK916.90	-71.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 ISK160	$0.72 MWK1,251.84	-41.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 ISK101	$0.59 MWK1,019.80	-25.3%
Average			-38.8%

Iceland vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.9% less for transportation

	Iceland	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.36 ISK1,081	$6.19 MWK10,763.64	-26.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$71.28 ISK9,217	$4.32 MWK7,517.10	-93.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,660.66 ISK5,257,830	$35,669.17 MWK62,038,896.33	-12.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 ISK2,850	$20.40 MWK35,485.51	-7.4%
Average			-34.9%

Iceland vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.3% less for housing

	Iceland	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.17 ISK9,333	$186.12 MWK323,724.36	+157.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,838.04 ISK237,677	$202.19 MWK351,659.25	-89.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,497.77 ISK193,677	$98.76 MWK171,776.96	-93.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.01 ISK7,502	$41.29 MWK71,808.05	-28.8%
Average			-13.3%

Iceland vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 19.1% less for childcare

	Iceland	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.16 ISK33,383	$354.75 MWK617,018.61	+37.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK775,083	$1,467.81 MWK2,552,941.97	-75.5%
Average			-19.1%

Iceland vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.19 ISK1,188	$1.12 MWK1,947.01	-87.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.65 ISK601	$2.91 MWK5,066.41	-37.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.76 ISK1,520	$1.59 MWK2,759.44	-86.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.46 ISK7,947	$51.33 MWK89,283.01	-16.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.35 ISK1,855	$3.95 MWK6,871.15	-72.5%
Average			-60.1%

Iceland vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.6% less for clothing

	Iceland	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$111.23 ISK14,383	$45.22 MWK78,657.50	-59.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.69 ISK7,718	$34.94 MWK60,775.88	-41.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$148.00 ISK19,138	$59.17 MWK102,916.18	-60.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$184.49 ISK23,857	$70.71 MWK122,976.47	-61.7%
Average			-55.6%

Iceland 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: May 2025

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