Cost of living comparison
Malawi is 71.0% more expensive than Laos.
If you lived in Malawi instead of Laos, you would:
pay 64.6% more for restaurants
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.90
LAK41,813
|
$4.32
MWK7,517.07
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.20
LAK92,668
|
$9.04
MWK15,730.71
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.69
LAK15,216
|
$0.87
MWK1,516.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.49
LAK10,702
|
$0.43
MWK752.93
|
|
pay 1.1% less for groceries
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
LAK22,092
|
$1.36
MWK2,373.87
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$13.03
LAK287,212
|
$4.82
MWK8,381.11
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.40
LAK141,067
|
$4.51
MWK7,850.76
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.06
LAK45,509
|
$2.31
MWK4,011.81
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.07
LAK45,625
|
$1.93
MWK3,349.47
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.75
LAK16,422
|
$1.03
MWK1,799.85
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
LAK16,349
|
$0.81
MWK1,408.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.96
LAK21,099
|
$1.12
MWK1,945.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
LAK28,414
|
$0.53
MWK916.86
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
LAK15,319
|
$0.72
MWK1,251.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.45
LAK9,964
|
$0.59
MWK1,019.77
|
|
pay 15.5% more for transportation
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.61
LAK101,504
|
$6.19
MWK10,763.22
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$53.85
LAK1,186,867
|
$4.32
MWK7,516.81
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,167.89
LAK620,798,336
|
$35,669.17
MWK62,036,520.02
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.57
LAK233,033
|
$20.40
MWK35,484.15
|
|
pay 5.4 times more for housing
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$8.98
LAK197,989
|
$186.12
MWK323,711.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$993.83
LAK21,903,194
|
$202.19
MWK351,645.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$809.30
LAK17,836,421
|
$98.76
MWK171,770.38
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$58.85
LAK1,296,909
|
$41.29
MWK71,805.30
|
|
pay 31.1% less for childcare
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$291.32
LAK6,420,567
|
$354.75
MWK616,994.98
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,140.14
LAK201,441,658
|
$1,467.81
MWK2,552,844.18
|
|
pay 16.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.11
LAK24,374
|
$1.12
MWK1,946.93
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.62
LAK35,681
|
$2.91
MWK5,066.22
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.78
LAK39,327
|
$1.59
MWK2,759.34
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.31
LAK1,461,460
|
$51.33
MWK89,279.59
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$2.97
LAK65,500
|
$3.95
MWK6,870.89
|
|
pay 10.9% less for clothing
|
Laos
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.60
LAK1,732,244
|
$45.22
MWK78,654.49
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$61.45
LAK1,354,248
|
$34.94
MWK60,773.55
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$65.22
LAK1,437,386
|
$59.17
MWK102,912.24
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$46.67
LAK1,028,571
|
$70.71
MWK122,971.76
|
|
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