Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 30.2% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 51.8% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 6.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 43.5% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 47.9% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 20.1% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.3% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 57.0% more in South Africa

The cost of clothing, restaurants, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports in South Africa are more expensive than in Zambia. Expenses including childcare and groceries are lower in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Zambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.8% more for restaurants

	Zambia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW203.11	$8.97 ZAR171.62	+24.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW107.63	$4.77 ZAR91.25	+24.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW20.10	$0.95 ZAR18.26	+33.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW9.32	$0.74 ZAR14.17	+124.0%
Average			+51.8%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.2% less for groceries

	Zambia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW20.83	$0.99 ZAR18.95	+33.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW102.40	$3.67 ZAR70.30	+1.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW136.67	$4.20 ZAR80.31	-13.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW54.20	$2.23 ZAR42.60	+15.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW50.60	$2.03 ZAR38.80	+12.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW33.83	$0.68 ZAR12.95	-43.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW17.00	$0.62 ZAR11.81	+2.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW35.64	$0.64 ZAR12.28	-49.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW15.87	$0.70 ZAR13.36	+24.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW26.92	$0.55 ZAR10.59	-42.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW18.98	$0.61 ZAR11.64	-9.6%
Average			-6.2%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.5% more for transportation

	Zambia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW134.22	$4.99 ZAR95.43	+4.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW1,043.15	$52.31 ZAR1,000.62	+41.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW225,455.66	$20,607.77 ZAR394,192.37	+157.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW341.65	$8.55 ZAR163.52	-29.5%
Average			+43.5%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.9% more for housing

	Zambia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,546.64	$41.37 ZAR791.33	-67.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW6,039.43	$382.55 ZAR7,317.62	+78.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW3,237.93	$326.35 ZAR6,242.48	+183.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,351.91	$80.40 ZAR1,537.88	-3.7%
Average			+47.9%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 20.1% less for childcare

	Zambia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,979.45	$174.12 ZAR3,330.56	-1.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW185,062.67	$4,033.53 ZAR77,154.68	-38.6%
Average			-20.1%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW27.23	$2.11 ZAR40.32	+118.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW58.40	$1.88 ZAR36.01	-9.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW70.11	$2.90 ZAR55.55	+16.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,160.78	$29.50 ZAR564.30	-28.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW98.57	$6.62 ZAR126.65	+89.2%
Average			+37.3%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.0% more for clothing

	Zambia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW519.24	$47.72 ZAR912.71	+158.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW529.07	$32.06 ZAR613.24	+70.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,539.91	$90.39 ZAR1,728.99	+0.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,331.06	$81.37 ZAR1,556.42	-1.7%
Average			+57.0%

Zambia vs. South Africa - 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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