Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

Damascus, Syria

Damascus vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Damascus is 3.0% cheaper than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 28.0% more in Damascus
Groceries: pay 22.1% less in Damascus
Transportation: pay 75.5% more in Damascus
Housing: pay 6.1% less in Damascus
Childcare: pay 73.8% less in Damascus
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.1% less in Damascus
Clothing: pay 8.7% less in Damascus

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

Damascus vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.0% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Damascus
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW197.29	$5.00 SYP65,010	-30.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW104.55	$5.00 SYP65,010	+30.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW19.52	$1.05 SYP13,652	+47.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW9.05	$0.54 SYP7,086	+64.7%
Average			+28.0%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.1% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Damascus
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW20.23	$0.63 SYP8,217	-14.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW99.47	$1.67 SYP21,752	-54.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW132.75	$4.05 SYP52,594	-16.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW52.65	$1.97 SYP25,571	+2.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW49.15	$3.01 SYP39,106	+67.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW32.86	$0.46 SYP5,918	-62.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW16.52	$0.96 SYP12,544	+59.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW34.62	$0.46 SYP5,963	-63.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW15.41	$0.39 SYP5,065	-30.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW26.15	$0.27 SYP3,476	-72.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW18.43	$0.28 SYP3,593	-59.0%
Average			-22.1%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.5% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Damascus
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW130.38	$15.92 SYP207,051	+234.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW1,013.27	$17.00 SYP221,034	-54.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW218,998.98	$18,500.00 SYP240,537,000	+131.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW331.86	$11.00 SYP143,022	-9.3%
Average			+75.5%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.1% less for housing

	Lusaka	Damascus
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,445.07	$66.75 SYP867,884	-47.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,866.47	$282.23 SYP3,669,607	+31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW3,145.20	$145.72 SYP1,894,661	+26.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,284.56	$53.53 SYP695,989	-35.9%
Average			-6.1%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.8% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Damascus
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,836.85	$48.33 SYP628,430	-72.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW179,762.77	$1,650.00 SYP21,453,300	-74.9%
Average			-73.8%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Damascus
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW26.45	$1.25 SYP16,252	+29.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW56.73	$1.27 SYP16,578	-38.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW68.10	$3.00 SYP39,006	+20.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,127.54	$13.30 SYP172,927	-67.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW95.74	$3.00 SYP39,006	-14.3%
Average			-14.1%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.7% less for clothing

	Lusaka	Damascus
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW504.37	$22.00 SYP286,044	+19.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW513.92	$23.50 SYP305,547	+25.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,467.17	$47.50 SYP617,595	-47.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,264.30	$56.25 SYP731,362	-32.0%
Average			-8.7%

Lusaka vs. Damascus - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Lusaka vs.

Beijing

Lusaka vs.

Phnom Penh

Lusaka vs.

Berlin

Lusaka vs.

Moscow

Lusaka vs.

Vienna

Lusaka vs.

Mexico City

Lusaka vs.

Canberra

Lusaka vs.

Hanoi

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Zambia vs. Syria. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zambia and Syria.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lusaka

Add prices for Damascus

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Damascus or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.