Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 97.8% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 67.0% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 54.9% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 58.0% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0 times more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 90.1% more in South Korea

The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, and housing in South Korea are more expensive than in Zambia. Notably, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 67.0% more for restaurants

	Zambia	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW207.16	$6.16 ₩9,057	-14.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW109.78	$5.24 ₩7,703	+37.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW20.50	$1.47 ₩2,164	+106.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW9.50	$0.79 ₩1,164	+139.3%
Average			+67.0%

Zambia vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Zambia	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW21.25	$3.08 ₩4,524	+316.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW104.44	$5.40 ₩7,947	+48.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW139.39	$7.46 ₩10,967	+53.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW55.29	$2.76 ₩4,055	+43.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW51.61	$3.32 ₩4,883	+84.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW34.50	$3.17 ₩4,658	+163.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW17.34	$1.49 ₩2,189	+146.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW36.35	$2.53 ₩3,722	+100.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW16.18	$2.41 ₩3,550	+328.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW27.46	$1.82 ₩2,683	+90.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW19.36	$1.21 ₩1,779	+79.6%
Average			+132.4%

Zambia vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.9% more for transportation

	Zambia	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW136.90	$4.39 ₩6,459	-7.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW1,063.96	$45.32 ₩66,633	+22.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW229,954.14	$27,023.07 ₩39,734,716	+237.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW348.46	$8.17 ₩12,016	-32.6%
Average			+54.9%

Zambia vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.0% more for housing

	Zambia	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,617.41	$17.65 ₩25,959	-86.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW6,159.94	$426.93 ₩627,760	+99.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW3,302.53	$328.41 ₩482,899	+185.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,398.84	$111.42 ₩163,836	+33.4%
Average			+58.0%

Zambia vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Zambia	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW5,078.81	$373.40 ₩549,048	+111.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW188,755.18	$22,907.58 ₩33,683,299	+248.6%
Average			+179.9%

Zambia vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW27.78	$3.09 ₩4,549	+220.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW59.57	$3.39 ₩4,984	+63.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW71.51	$3.21 ₩4,726	+29.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,183.94	$45.71 ₩67,214	+10.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW100.53	$10.10 ₩14,849	+188.6%
Average			+102.4%

Zambia vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 90.1% more for clothing

	Zambia	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW529.60	$60.70 ₩89,260	+229.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW539.63	$44.52 ₩65,466	+137.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,590.59	$72.99 ₩107,328	-19.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,377.57	$93.73 ₩137,821	+13.3%
Average			+90.1%

Zambia vs. South Korea - 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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