Cost of living comparison

Papua New Guinea

compared to

Zambia

Zambia vs. Papua New Guinea Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 27.6% cheaper than Papua New Guinea overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.9% less in Zambia
Groceries: pay 33.7% less in Zambia
Transportation: pay 4.7% more in Zambia
Housing: pay 56.1% less in Zambia
Childcare: pay 9.1% less in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.6% less in Zambia
Clothing: pay 21.7% less in Zambia

Expenses including housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and childcare are lower in Zambia.

Zambia vs. Papua New Guinea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zambia instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.9% less for restaurants

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.38 PGK50.85	$7.21 ZMW207.74	-41.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 PGK30.51	$3.82 ZMW110.09	-48.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.27	$0.71 ZMW20.56	-10.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 PGK3.66	$0.33 ZMW9.53	-62.9%
Average			-40.9%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.7% less for groceries

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 PGK6.10	$0.74 ZMW21.31	-50.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.20 PGK9.03	$3.64 ZMW104.74	+65.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.01 PGK28.81	$4.85 ZMW139.79	-30.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.68 PGK15.13	$1.92 ZMW55.44	-47.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 PGK13.45	$1.80 ZMW51.76	-45.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 PGK6.39	$1.20 ZMW34.60	-22.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.19 PGK4.90	$0.60 ZMW17.39	-49.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.74 PGK7.16	$1.27 ZMW36.45	-27.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.02 PGK8.30	$0.56 ZMW16.23	-72.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 PGK6.46	$0.96 ZMW27.54	-39.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PGK5.61	$0.67 ZMW19.41	-50.7%
Average			-33.7%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.7% more for transportation

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.29 PGK17.61	$4.77 ZMW137.29	+11.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.69 PGK68.53	$37.04 ZMW1,066.96	+121.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,877.21 PGK106,268.42	$8,004.53 ZMW230,602.53	-69.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 PGK90.51	$12.13 ZMW349.44	-45.0%
Average			+4.7%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.1% less for housing

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$309.54 PGK1,271.15	$125.92 ZMW3,627.61	-59.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,346.03 PGK9,634.33	$214.42 ZMW6,177.30	-90.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$609.17 PGK2,501.63	$114.96 ZMW3,311.85	-81.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$78.11 PGK320.78	$83.50 ZMW2,405.60	+6.9%
Average			-56.1%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.1% less for childcare

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$494.23 PGK2,029.61	$176.79 ZMW5,093.13	-64.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,498.59 PGK18,474.10	$6,570.42 ZMW189,287.42	+46.1%
Average			-9.1%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 PGK10.17	$0.97 ZMW27.85	-61.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.83 PGK7.53	$2.07 ZMW59.74	+13.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.48 PGK30.71	$2.49 ZMW71.71	-66.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.19 PGK185.59	$41.21 ZMW1,187.28	-8.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.67 PGK35.59	$3.50 ZMW100.82	-59.6%
Average			-36.6%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.7% less for clothing

	Papua New Guinea	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.25 PGK161.18	$18.43 ZMW531.09	-53.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.57 PGK183.05	$18.78 ZMW541.15	-57.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.38 PGK264.40	$90.18 ZMW2,597.89	+40.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.43 PGK404.23	$82.76 ZMW2,384.27	-15.9%
Average			-21.7%

Papua New Guinea vs. Zambia - 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

Papua New Guinea vs.

Vietnam

Papua New Guinea vs.

Australia

Papua New Guinea vs.

Ecuador

Papua New Guinea vs.

Peru

Papua New Guinea vs.

Austria

Papua New Guinea vs.

Egypt

Papua New Guinea vs.

France

Papua New Guinea vs.

Canada

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Port Moresby vs. Lusaka

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 Papua New Guinea

Add prices for Zambia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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