Cost of living comparison

Paramaribo, Suriname

compared to

Lusaka, Zambia

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 2.3 times more expensive than Paramaribo.

Restaurants: pay 35.4% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 21.5% less in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 39.7% less in Lusaka
Housing: pay 77.8% more in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 10.0 times more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.6% more in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 22.2% less in Lusaka

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

Lusaka vs. Paramaribo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lusaka instead of Paramaribo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.4% less for restaurants

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.97 SRD255.46	$7.21 ZMW203.11	+3.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.16 SRD335.76	$3.82 ZMW107.63	-58.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.29 SRD47.43	$0.71 ZMW20.10	-44.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 SRD20.92	$0.33 ZMW9.32	-42.0%
Average			-35.4%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.5% less for groceries

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.23 SRD44.95	$0.74 ZMW20.83	-39.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.24 SRD228.49	$3.64 ZMW102.40	-41.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.52 SRD202.33	$4.85 ZMW136.67	-12.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.27 SRD119.85	$1.92 ZMW54.20	-41.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.34 SRD85.86	$1.80 ZMW50.60	-23.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.04 SRD74.82	$1.20 ZMW33.83	-41.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 SRD30.11	$0.60 ZMW17.00	-26.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SRD43.25	$1.27 ZMW35.64	+7.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 SRD68.32	$0.56 ZMW15.87	-69.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 SRD21.62	$0.96 ZMW26.92	+62.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.75 SRD27.46	$0.67 ZMW18.98	-10.1%
Average			-21.5%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.7% less for transportation

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.14 SRD151.53	$4.77 ZMW134.22	+15.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.00 SRD3,298.19	$37.04 ZMW1,043.15	-58.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SRD916,162.50	$8,004.53 ZMW225,455.66	-68.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.00 SRD842.87	$12.13 ZMW341.65	-47.3%
Average			-39.7%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.8% more for housing

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.02 SRD1,136.93	$125.92 ZMW3,546.64	+305.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$516.42 SRD18,924.86	$214.42 ZMW6,039.43	-58.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$194.83 SRD7,139.80	$114.96 ZMW3,237.93	-41.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.77 SRD1,493.98	$83.50 ZMW2,351.91	+104.8%
Average			+77.8%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 10.0 times more for childcare

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$63.03 SRD2,309.71	$176.79 ZMW4,979.45	+180.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$380.51 SRD13,944.54	$6,570.42 ZMW185,062.67	+1626.7%
Average			+903.6%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SRD73.29	$0.97 ZMW27.23	-51.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 SRD82.57	$2.07 ZMW58.40	-8.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.04 SRD221.47	$2.49 ZMW70.11	-58.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$12.63 SRD462.71	$41.21 ZMW1,160.78	+226.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SRD183.23	$3.50 ZMW98.57	-30.0%
Average			+15.6%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.2% less for clothing

	Paramaribo	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$36.30 SRD1,330.11	$18.43 ZMW519.24	-49.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.44 SRD1,042.28	$18.78 ZMW529.07	-34.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.41 SRD2,763.68	$90.18 ZMW2,539.91	+19.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.56 SRD4,051.74	$82.76 ZMW2,331.06	-25.1%
Average			-22.2%

Paramaribo vs. Lusaka - 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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