Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 2.9 times more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.0% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 3.1 times more in South Korea
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 8.3 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 88.0% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 29.4% more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 38.0% more for restaurants

	Malawi	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,494.74	$6.16 ₩9,057	+42.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,683.98	$5.24 ₩7,703	-42.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,512.05	$1.47 ₩2,164	+68.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.69	$0.79 ₩1,164	+82.9%
Average			+38.0%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Malawi	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,366.81	$3.08 ₩4,524	+125.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,356.21	$5.40 ₩7,947	+12.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,827.43	$7.46 ₩10,967	+65.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,999.89	$2.76 ₩4,055	+19.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,339.52	$3.32 ₩4,883	+72.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,794.51	$3.17 ₩4,658	+206.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,404.13	$1.49 ₩2,189	+83.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,940.10	$2.53 ₩3,722	+126.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK914.14	$2.41 ₩3,550	+358.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,248.08	$1.82 ₩2,683	+153.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.74	$1.21 ₩1,779	+106.3%
Average			+120.8%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1 times more for transportation

	Malawi	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,731.25	$4.39 ₩6,459	-29.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.48	$45.32 ₩66,633	+948.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,852,226.56	$27,023.07 ₩39,734,716	-24.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,378.74	$8.17 ₩12,016	-59.9%
Average			+208.8%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Malawi	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,750.31	$17.65 ₩25,959	-90.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,601.13	$426.93 ₩627,760	+111.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,260.10	$328.41 ₩482,899	+232.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,591.98	$111.42 ₩163,836	+169.9%
Average			+105.8%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.3 times more for childcare

	Malawi	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK615,162.05	$373.40 ₩549,048	+5.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,260.39	$22,907.58 ₩33,683,299	+1460.7%
Average			+733.0%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 88.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,941.15	$3.09 ₩4,549	+176.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,051.17	$3.39 ₩4,984	+16.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,751.14	$3.21 ₩4,726	+102.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,014.37	$45.71 ₩67,214	-11.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.48	$10.10 ₩14,849	+155.6%
Average			+88.0%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.4% more for clothing

	Malawi	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,420.83	$60.70 ₩89,260	+34.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,593.01	$44.52 ₩65,466	+27.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,606.51	$72.99 ₩107,328	+23.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,606.44	$93.73 ₩137,821	+32.6%
Average			+29.4%

Malawi vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Malawi vs.

Australia

Malawi vs.

Spain

Malawi vs.

United States

Malawi vs.

Poland

Malawi vs.

Russia

Malawi vs.

Italy

Malawi vs.

China

Malawi vs.

Ireland

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Lilongwe vs. Seoul

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Malawi

Add prices for South Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Korea or Malawi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.

Ask a question about Malawi

Ask a question about South Korea