Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 94.1% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 27.1% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 39.7% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 18.0% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.2% more in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in Addis Ababa

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Lusaka. Notably, childcare, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.1% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW177.72	$6.00 ETB809.40	-16.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW94.18	$6.24 ETB841.14	+63.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW17.59	$0.78 ETB105.90	+10.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW8.15	$0.50 ETB67.74	+51.8%
Average			+27.1%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.7% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW18.23	$1.20 ETB162.09	+62.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW89.61	$4.85 ETB654.73	+33.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW119.59	$6.08 ETB820.01	+25.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW47.43	$2.65 ETB357.37	+37.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW44.28	$5.65 ETB761.67	+214.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW29.60	$3.30 ETB445.35	+174.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW14.88	$0.51 ETB68.31	-16.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW31.18	$1.08 ETB145.46	-14.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW13.88	$0.39 ETB52.14	-31.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW23.56	$0.31 ETB41.99	-67.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW16.61	$0.79 ETB107.13	+17.9%
Average			+39.7%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.0% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW117.45	$4.88 ETB658.28	+2.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW912.79	$10.00 ETB1,349.00	-73.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW197,281.92	$25,000.00 ETB3,372,500.00	+212.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW298.95	$3.67 ETB494.41	-69.8%
Average			+18.0%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,103.44	$171.17 ETB23,090.38	+35.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,284.72	$645.10 ETB87,023.99	+200.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW2,833.31	$422.74 ETB57,027.93	+267.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,058.01	$124.84 ETB16,840.68	+49.5%
Average			+138.5%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,357.20	$81.47 ETB10,990.74	-53.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW161,936.58	$43,916.67 ETB5,924,358.33	+568.4%
Average			+257.2%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW23.83	$1.00 ETB134.90	+3.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW51.10	$1.15 ETB155.10	-44.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW61.35	$4.00 ETB539.60	+60.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,015.73	$90.59 ETB12,221.27	+119.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW86.25	$6.70 ETB903.83	+91.5%
Average			+46.2%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW454.35	$48.33 ETB6,520.17	+162.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW462.96	$75.17 ETB10,139.98	+300.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,222.51	$108.84 ETB14,682.89	+20.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,039.76	$119.32 ETB16,096.50	+44.2%
Average			+131.8%

Lusaka vs. Addis Ababa - 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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