Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Northern Mariana Islands

Northern Mariana Islands vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Northern Mariana Islands is 2.3 times more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 74.4% more in Northern Mariana Islands
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Northern Mariana Islands
Transportation: pay 1.8% less in Northern Mariana Islands
Housing: pay 3.5 times more in Northern Mariana Islands
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in Northern Mariana Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.4 times more in Northern Mariana Islands
Clothing: pay 5.8% less in Northern Mariana Islands

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Northern Mariana Islands are more expensive than in Malawi. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Northern Mariana Islands. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Northern Mariana Islands.

Northern Mariana Islands vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Northern Mariana Islands instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 74.4% more for restaurants

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,505.32	$8.00	+85.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,706.12	$12.00	+32.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,514.19	$1.50	+72.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK751.75	$0.90	+107.9%
Average			+74.4%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,370.15	$3.33	+144.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,368.00	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,838.48	$8.44	+87.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK4,005.54	$6.33	+174.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,344.23	$6.00	+211.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,797.04	$2.99	+188.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,406.11	$1.00	+23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,942.84	$2.99	+167.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK915.43	??
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,249.84	$0.95	+31.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,018.17	$1.03	+76.4%
Average			+122.7%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.8% less for transportation

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,746.39	$5.32	-14.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,505.06	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,939,507.23	$36,999.00	+3.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,428.66	$21.41	+5.0%
Average			-1.8%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK323,205.74	$60.00	-67.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK351,095.87	$625.00	+209.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,501.77	$450.00	+355.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,693.01	$254.42	+516.2%
Average			+253.3%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK616,030.12	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,548,852.04	$6,000.00	+308.8%
Average			+308.8%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.4 times more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,943.89	$5.50	+391.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,058.29	$4.83	+65.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,755.02	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,139.98	$47.50	-7.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,860.15	$8.00	+102.5%
Average			+138.1%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.8% less for clothing

	Malawi	Northern Mariana Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,531.49	$30.00	-33.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,678.51	$40.00	+14.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,751.30	$70.00	+18.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,779.46	$55.00	-22.2%
Average			-5.8%

Malawi vs. Northern Mariana Islands - 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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