Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Senegal

Senegal vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Senegal is 86.6% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.0% more in Senegal
Groceries: pay 25.7% more in Senegal
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Senegal
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in Senegal
Childcare: pay 2.7 times more in Senegal
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.0% more in Senegal
Clothing: pay 29.5% more in Senegal

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

Senegal vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.0% more for restaurants

	Malawi	Senegal
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,494.49	$6.54 F CFA3,912	+51.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,683.46	$8.99 F CFA5,379	-0.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,512.00	$0.93 F CFA554	+6.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.66	$0.98 F CFA589	+127.2%
Average			+46.0%

Malawi vs. Senegal - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.7% more for groceries

	Malawi	Senegal
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,366.74	$0.55 F CFA330	-59.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,355.93	$6.75 F CFA4,037	+40.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,827.17	$10.56 F CFA6,320	+133.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,999.76	$2.41 F CFA1,445	+4.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,339.41	$4.39 F CFA2,626	+127.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,794.45	$1.02 F CFA609	-1.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,404.08	$0.82 F CFA488	+0.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,940.04	$0.99 F CFA591	-11.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK914.11	$0.88 F CFA527	+67.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,248.04	$0.64 F CFA384	-10.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.70	$0.54 F CFA324	-7.7%
Average			+25.7%

Malawi vs. Senegal - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Malawi	Senegal
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,730.89	$6.12 F CFA3,665	-1.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.23	$24.51 F CFA14,669	+467.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,850,147.98	$26,959.22 F CFA16,135,598	-24.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,377.55	$25.33 F CFA15,158	+24.1%
Average			+116.4%

Malawi vs. Senegal - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	Malawi	Senegal
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,739.46	$48.58 F CFA29,077	-73.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,589.35	$932.62 F CFA558,188	+361.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,254.34	$326.78 F CFA195,583	+230.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,589.58	$97.46 F CFA58,330	+136.1%
Average			+163.6%

Malawi vs. Senegal - Cost of housing

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Senegal
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK615,141.38	$249.17 F CFA149,132	-29.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,174.85	$6,796.99 F CFA4,068,127	+363.1%
Average			+166.7%

Malawi vs. Senegal - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Senegal
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,941.09	$2.45 F CFA1,467	+118.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,051.00	$4.23 F CFA2,532	+45.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,751.05	$1.47 F CFA880	-7.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,011.38	$64.81 F CFA38,791	+26.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.25	$8.17 F CFA4,890	+106.8%
Average			+58.0%

Malawi vs. Senegal - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.5% more for clothing

	Malawi	Senegal
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,418.19	$58.82 F CFA35,205	+30.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,590.97	$37.58 F CFA22,492	+7.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,603.07	$88.23 F CFA52,808	+49.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,602.32	$92.72 F CFA55,497	+31.1%
Average			+29.5%

Malawi vs. Senegal - 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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