Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Pakistan Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 3.0 times more expensive than Pakistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Malawi
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Malawi
Housing: pay 4.6 times more in Malawi
Childcare: pay 5.7 times more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 69.2% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Malawi

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Malawi are more expensive than in Pakistan. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Malawi.

Malawi vs. Pakistan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Pakistan	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.63 PKR456.54	$4.32 MWK7,476.01	+164.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.70 PKR1,034.72	$9.04 MWK15,644.79	+144.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 PKR83.36	$0.87 MWK1,508.28	+192.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.20 PKR56.98	$0.43 MWK748.81	+112.3%
Average			+153.4%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Pakistan	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.54 PKR152.19	$1.36 MWK2,360.90	+150.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.48 PKR691.98	$4.82 MWK8,335.33	+94.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.74 PKR765.74	$4.51 MWK7,807.87	+64.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.15 PKR322.56	$2.31 MWK3,989.90	+99.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.24 PKR345.77	$1.93 MWK3,331.17	+55.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.47 PKR130.18	$1.03 MWK1,790.02	+122.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.28 PKR78.20	$0.81 MWK1,400.62	+189.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.32 PKR89.71	$1.12 MWK1,935.25	+248.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 PKR64.11	$0.53 MWK911.85	+129.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR46.79	$0.72 MWK1,244.96	+330.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 PKR61.62	$0.59 MWK1,014.20	+166.0%
Average			+150.2%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Pakistan	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.71 PKR1,037.02	$6.19 MWK10,704.43	+66.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.71 PKR1,876.19	$4.32 MWK7,475.76	-35.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,760.96 PKR5,243,954.62	$35,669.17 MWK61,697,668.50	+90.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.64 PKR1,296.89	$20.40 MWK35,290.33	+339.7%
Average			+115.2%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.6 times more for housing

	Pakistan	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.82 PKR3,863.23	$186.12 MWK321,943.81	+1246.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$88.73 PKR24,801.50	$202.19 MWK349,725.04	+127.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$52.29 PKR14,615.62	$98.76 MWK170,832.15	+88.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.51 PKR16,912.16	$41.29 MWK71,413.09	-31.8%
Average			+357.9%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 5.7 times more for childcare

	Pakistan	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$34.35 PKR9,601.60	$354.75 MWK613,624.87	+932.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,271.23 PKR355,326.21	$1,467.81 MWK2,538,900.22	+15.5%
Average			+474.1%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 69.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Pakistan	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 PKR509.95	$1.12 MWK1,936.30	-38.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 PKR418.07	$2.91 MWK5,038.54	+94.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.89 PKR528.46	$1.59 MWK2,744.26	-16.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$12.72 PKR3,554.96	$51.33 MWK88,791.94	+303.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.87 PKR1,081.94	$3.95 MWK6,833.36	+2.1%
Average			+69.2%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Pakistan	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.19 PKR3,965.36	$45.22 MWK78,224.87	+218.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.90 PKR6,120.22	$34.94 MWK60,441.60	+59.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.34 PKR17,146.66	$59.17 MWK102,350.12	-3.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$28.94 PKR8,088.86	$70.71 MWK122,300.07	+144.3%
Average			+104.8%

Pakistan vs. Malawi - 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: March 2025

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