Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Afghanistan

Afghanistan vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Afghanistan is 20.5% cheaper than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.2% less in Afghanistan
Groceries: pay 57.0% less in Afghanistan
Transportation: pay 26.1% more in Afghanistan
Housing: pay 12.3% more in Afghanistan
Childcare: pay 45.0% less in Afghanistan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.3% more in Afghanistan
Clothing: pay 57.9% less in Afghanistan

The cost of entertainment and sports, transportation, and housing in Afghanistan are more expensive than in Malawi. Expenses including clothing, groceries, restaurants, and childcare are lower in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.2% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,490.34	$2.34 AFN169	-45.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,674.76	$4.88 AFN351	-46.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,511.17	$0.48 AFN34	-45.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.25	$0.19 AFN14	-55.8%
Average			-48.2%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.0% less for groceries

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,365.42	$0.24 AFN18	-82.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,351.30	$1.99 AFN144	-58.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,822.83	$2.40 AFN173	-46.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,997.54	$1.73 AFN125	-24.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,337.56	$1.49 AFN107	-22.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,793.45	$0.28 AFN20	-73.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,403.30	$0.38 AFN27	-52.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,938.96	$0.33 AFN24	-70.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK913.60	$0.25 AFN18	-51.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,247.34	$0.21 AFN15	-71.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.14	$0.16 AFN12	-72.2%
Average			-57.0%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.1% more for transportation

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,724.94	$4.06 AFN292	-34.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,490.08	$15.44 AFN1,112	+257.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,815,866.34	$8,439.56 AFN607,960	-76.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,357.94	$11.80 AFN850	-42.2%
Average			+26.1%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.3% more for housing

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,560.57	$189.66 AFN13,662	+1.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,395.03	$88.17 AFN6,351	-56.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,159.42	$59.20 AFN4,265	-40.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,549.90	$100.63 AFN7,249	+143.7%
Average			+12.3%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - Cost of housing

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pay 45.0% less for childcare

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK614,800.43	$37.05 AFN2,669	-89.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,543,764.14	$1,462.66 AFN105,366	-0.4%
Average			-45.0%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,940.01	$4.14 AFN299	+270.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,048.20	$1.05 AFN76	-64.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,749.52	$1.90 AFN137	+19.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK88,962.04	$11.46 AFN825	-77.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,846.45	$3.29 AFN237	-16.7%
Average			+26.3%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.9% less for clothing

	Malawi	Afghanistan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,374.73	$15.11 AFN1,089	-66.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,557.39	$18.99 AFN1,368	-45.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,546.20	$26.51 AFN1,910	-55.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,534.37	$25.50 AFN1,837	-63.9%
Average			-57.9%

Malawi vs. Afghanistan - 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: April 2025

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