Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Maldives

Maldives vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Maldives is 2.0 times more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 9.8% more in Maldives
Groceries: pay 47.7% more in Maldives
Transportation: pay 94.1% more in Maldives
Housing: pay 4.1 times more in Maldives
Childcare: pay 33.2% more in Maldives
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.7 times more in Maldives
Clothing: pay 44.3% more in Maldives

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, clothing, and childcare in Maldives are more expensive than in Malawi. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Maldives.

Maldives vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.8% more for restaurants

	Malawi	Maldives
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,517.36	$5.50 MVR84.94	+27.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,731.32	$9.71 MVR149.89	+7.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,516.62	$1.21 MVR18.74	+39.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK752.95	$0.28 MVR4.37	-34.6%
Average			+9.8%

Malawi vs. Maldives - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.7% more for groceries

	Malawi	Maldives
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,373.96	$1.54 MVR23.73	+12.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,381.43	$5.65 MVR87.27	+17.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,851.06	$6.78 MVR104.73	+50.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK4,011.97	$1.65 MVR25.48	-28.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,349.60	$2.47 MVR38.16	+28.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,799.92	$2.00 MVR30.88	+93.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,408.36	$1.70 MVR26.29	+110.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,945.96	$1.74 MVR26.91	+55.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK916.90	$1.61 MVR24.93	+206.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,251.84	$0.62 MVR9.65	-13.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,019.80	$0.54 MVR8.29	-8.4%
Average			+47.7%

Malawi vs. Maldives - Cost of groceries

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pay 94.1% more for transportation

	Malawi	Maldives
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,763.64	$3.56 MVR54.92	-42.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,517.10	$22.65 MVR349.74	+424.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK62,038,896.33	$38,834.95 MVR599,557.28	+8.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,485.51	$17.48 MVR269.80	-14.3%
Average			+94.1%

Malawi vs. Maldives - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1 times more for housing

	Malawi	Maldives
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK323,724.36	$65.94 MVR1,018.00	-64.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK351,659.25	$1,098.53 MVR16,959.70	+443.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,776.96	$829.29 MVR12,803.05	+739.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,808.05	$94.04 MVR1,451.87	+127.8%
Average			+311.6%

Malawi vs. Maldives - Cost of housing

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pay 33.2% more for childcare

	Malawi	Maldives
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK617,018.61	$172.53 MVR2,663.66	-51.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,552,941.97	$3,198.06 MVR49,373.54	+117.9%
Average			+33.2%

Malawi vs. Maldives - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.7 times more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Maldives
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,947.01	$4.69 MVR72.45	+319.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,066.41	$3.24 MVR49.96	+11.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,759.44	$7.12 MVR109.92	+348.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,283.01	$71.60 MVR1,105.43	+39.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,871.15	$8.58 MVR132.40	+117.1%
Average			+167.1%

Malawi vs. Maldives - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.3% more for clothing

	Malawi	Maldives
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,657.50	$55.89 MVR862.86	+23.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,775.88	$58.79 MVR907.66	+68.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,916.18	$101.13 MVR1,561.35	+70.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,976.47	$80.91 MVR1,249.08	+14.4%
Average			+44.3%

Malawi vs. Maldives - 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: May 2025

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