Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

Paramaribo, Suriname

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Paramaribo is 37.2% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 72.6% more in Paramaribo
Groceries: pay 50.4% more in Paramaribo
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Paramaribo
Housing: pay 20.9% more in Paramaribo
Childcare: pay 79.2% less in Paramaribo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.4% more in Paramaribo
Clothing: pay 41.4% more in Paramaribo

The cost of transportation, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and housing in Paramaribo are more expensive than in Lusaka. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Paramaribo.

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 72.6% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW177.72	$6.97 SRD260.72	-3.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW94.18	$9.16 SRD342.67	+139.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW17.59	$1.29 SRD48.41	+81.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW8.15	$0.57 SRD21.35	+72.5%
Average			+72.6%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.4% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW18.23	$1.23 SRD45.88	+65.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW89.61	$6.24 SRD233.19	+71.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW119.59	$5.52 SRD206.49	+13.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW47.43	$3.27 SRD122.31	+69.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW44.28	$2.34 SRD87.62	+30.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW29.60	$2.04 SRD76.36	+70.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW14.88	$0.82 SRD30.73	+36.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW31.18	$1.18 SRD44.14	-6.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW13.88	$1.86 SRD69.72	+231.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW23.56	$0.59 SRD22.06	-38.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW16.61	$0.75 SRD28.03	+11.2%
Average			+50.4%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW117.45	$4.14 SRD154.65	-13.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW912.79	$90.00 SRD3,366.00	+143.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW197,281.92	$25,000.00 SRD935,000.00	+212.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW298.95	$23.00 SRD860.20	+89.6%
Average			+107.9%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.9% more for housing

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,103.44	$31.02 SRD1,160.31	-75.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,284.72	$516.42 SRD19,313.98	+140.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW2,833.31	$194.83 SRD7,286.61	+69.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,058.01	$40.77 SRD1,524.70	-51.2%
Average			+20.9%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - Cost of housing

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pay 79.2% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,357.20	$63.03 SRD2,357.20	-64.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW161,936.58	$380.51 SRD14,231.26	-94.2%
Average			-79.2%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW23.83	$2.00 SRD74.80	+106.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW51.10	$2.25 SRD84.26	+8.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW61.35	$6.04 SRD226.02	+142.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,015.73	$12.63 SRD472.23	-69.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW86.25	$5.00 SRD187.00	+42.9%
Average			+46.4%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.4% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Paramaribo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW454.35	$36.30 SRD1,357.46	+96.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW462.96	$28.44 SRD1,063.71	+51.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,222.51	$75.41 SRD2,820.51	-16.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,039.76	$110.56 SRD4,135.05	+33.6%
Average			+41.4%

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo - 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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