Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sri Lanka vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Sri Lanka is 6.6% cheaper than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 24.1% less in Sri Lanka
Groceries: pay 21.6% more in Sri Lanka
Transportation: pay 8.3% more in Sri Lanka
Housing: pay 28.1% less in Sri Lanka
Childcare: pay 80.0% less in Sri Lanka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 86.3% more in Sri Lanka
Clothing: pay 30.2% less in Sri Lanka

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

Sri Lanka vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 24.1% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,528.46	$2.86 LKR851.92	-33.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,754.55	$6.80 LKR2,021.50	-24.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,518.86	$0.71 LKR210.33	-18.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK754.07	$0.35 LKR104.68	-18.7%
Average			-24.1%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.6% more for groceries

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,377.46	$0.56 LKR167.63	-58.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,393.81	$6.21 LKR1,848.00	+28.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,862.65	$6.31 LKR1,877.63	+39.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK4,017.89	$2.18 LKR647.88	-5.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,354.54	$2.29 LKR681.94	+19.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,802.58	$3.04 LKR903.14	+193.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,410.44	$0.44 LKR131.92	-45.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,948.83	$2.56 LKR762.22	+129.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK918.25	$0.50 LKR148.54	-5.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,253.69	$0.48 LKR143.40	-33.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,021.31	$0.44 LKR131.68	-24.5%
Average			+21.6%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.3% more for transportation

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,779.53	$4.84 LKR1,438.36	-21.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,528.20	$10.76 LKR3,200.70	+149.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK62,130,529.71	$32,478.81 LKR9,661,312.64	-8.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,537.92	$3.09 LKR918.34	-84.9%
Average			+8.3%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.1% less for housing

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK324,202.52	$13.80 LKR4,104.90	-92.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK352,178.66	$163.33 LKR48,586.12	-19.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK172,030.68	$123.34 LKR36,690.15	+24.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,914.11	$30.68 LKR9,126.87	-25.7%
Average			-28.1%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing

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pay 80.0% less for childcare

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK617,929.96	$26.94 LKR8,013.79	-92.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,556,712.75	$475.05 LKR141,312.28	-67.6%
Average			-80.0%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare

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pay 86.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,949.89	$2.00 LKR595.62	+78.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,073.89	$2.35 LKR698.94	-19.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,763.52	$8.91 LKR2,649.61	+461.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,414.89	$14.75 LKR4,388.98	-71.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,881.30	$3.23 LKR960.21	-18.3%
Average			+86.3%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.2% less for clothing

	Malawi	Sri Lanka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,773.68	$29.58 LKR8,797.56	-34.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,865.64	$19.20 LKR5,712.17	-45.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK103,068.19	$65.72 LKR19,549.30	+11.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK123,158.11	$33.57 LKR9,985.31	-52.5%
Average			-30.2%

Malawi vs. Sri Lanka - 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: February 2025

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