Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Swaziland

Swaziland vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Swaziland is 30.8% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 17.5% less in Swaziland
Groceries: pay 23.0% less in Swaziland
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Swaziland
Housing: pay 18.5% more in Swaziland
Childcare: pay 89.7% more in Swaziland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.9% more in Swaziland
Clothing: pay 5.5% more in Swaziland

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

Swaziland vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.5% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Swaziland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,494.49	$3.07 SZL56.36	-29.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,683.46	$2.33 SZL42.79	-74.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,512.00	$0.93 SZL17.05	+6.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.66	$0.55 SZL10.09	+26.8%
Average			-17.5%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.0% less for groceries

	Malawi	Swaziland
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,366.74	$0.76 SZL13.93	-44.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,355.93	$4.86 SZL89.22	+0.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,827.17	$4.01 SZL73.74	-11.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,999.76	$1.70 SZL31.31	-26.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,339.41	$1.97 SZL36.14	+2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,794.45	$0.75 SZL13.81	-27.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,404.08	$0.33 SZL6.15	-58.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,940.04	$0.43 SZL7.89	-61.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK914.11	$0.64 SZL11.68	+20.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,248.04	$0.45 SZL8.32	-37.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.70	$0.53 SZL9.74	-9.6%
Average			-23.0%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Malawi	Swaziland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,730.89	$4.74 SZL87.08	-23.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.23	$29.82 SZL547.90	+590.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,850,147.98	$17,039.98 SZL313,085.87	-52.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,377.55	$25.84 SZL474.78	+26.7%
Average			+135.3%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.5% more for housing

	Malawi	Swaziland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,739.46	$57.61 SZL1,058.53	-69.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,589.35	$227.20 SZL4,174.48	+12.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,254.34	$184.60 SZL3,391.76	+86.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,589.58	$59.36 SZL1,090.68	+43.8%
Average			+18.5%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - Cost of housing

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pay 89.7% more for childcare

	Malawi	Swaziland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK615,141.38	$128.26 SZL2,356.56	-63.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,174.85	$5,035.74 SZL92,524.76	+243.1%
Average			+89.7%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Swaziland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,941.09	$1.85 SZL33.92	+64.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,051.00	$1.74 SZL32.00	-40.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,751.05	$2.56 SZL46.96	+61.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,011.38	$28.40 SZL521.81	-44.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.25	$3.69 SZL67.84	-6.5%
Average			+6.9%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.5% more for clothing

	Malawi	Swaziland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,418.19	$52.17 SZL958.48	+15.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,590.97	$23.67 SZL434.84	-32.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,603.07	$73.84 SZL1,356.71	+24.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,602.32	$80.58 SZL1,480.55	+14.0%
Average			+5.5%

Malawi vs. Swaziland - 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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