Cost of living comparison

 Nigeria
compared to
 Malawi
Malawi vs. Nigeria Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 68.9% more expensive than Nigeria overall.

Restaurants
pay 86.9% more in Malawi
Groceries
pay 0.9% less in Malawi
Transportation
pay 61.1% more in Malawi
Housing
pay 2.2 times more in Malawi
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.3% more in Malawi
Clothing
pay 50.5% more in Malawi

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

Malawi vs. Nigeria Cost Breakdown

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

pay 86.9% more for restaurants

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.61
NGN4,185.12
$4.32
MWK7,490.34
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.61
NGN8,988.19
$9.04
MWK15,674.76
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.38
NGN609.65
$0.87
MWK1,511.17

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pay 0.9% less for groceries

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Bread
1 loaf
$1.27
NGN2,032.00
$1.36
MWK2,365.42
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.51
NGN4,030.33
$4.82
MWK8,351.30
Milk (1 gallon) $9.86
NGN15,805.52
$4.51
MWK7,822.83

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pay 61.1% more for transportation

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.41
NGN3,861.98
$6.19
MWK10,724.94
Monthly public transit pass $36.26
NGN58,123.93
$4.32
MWK7,490.08
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $16,757.94
NGN26,865,994.62
$35,669.17
MWK61,815,866.34

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$29.99
NGN48,086.41
$186.12
MWK322,560.57
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $731.80
NGN1,173,207.95
$202.19
MWK350,395.03
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $456.14
NGN731,279.28
$98.76
MWK171,159.42

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $85.98
NGN137,845.31
$354.75
MWK614,800.43
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,787.42
NGN2,865,563.34
$1,467.81
MWK2,543,764.14

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pay 13.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.91
NGN1,451.52
$1.12
MWK1,940.01
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.04
NGN3,263.70
$2.91
MWK5,048.20
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.60
NGN2,564.16
$1.59
MWK2,749.52

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pay 50.5% more for clothing

 
Nigeria
Malawi
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$17.81
NGN28,558.24
$45.22
MWK78,374.73
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$28.83
NGN46,226.53
$34.94
MWK60,557.39
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$57.22
NGN91,730.43
$59.17
MWK102,546.20

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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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