Cost of living comparison

Nigeria

compared to

Zambia

Lusaka vs. Abuja Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 2.4% cheaper than Abuja.

Restaurants: pay 71.9% more in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 8.2% more in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 16.2% more in Lusaka
Housing: pay 37.0% less in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.8% more in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 45.2% less in Lusaka

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

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Lusaka vs. Abuja Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 71.9% more for restaurants

	Abuja	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.00 NGN2,662.42	$5.53 ZMW110.20	+176.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.00 NGN5,324.84	$5.03 ZMW100.18	+25.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 NGN650.79	$0.75 ZMW15.03	+54.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 NGN928.07	$0.47 ZMW9.39	-32.4%
Average			+71.9%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.2% more for groceries

	Abuja	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.32 NGN1,752.51	$1.20 ZMW23.92	-8.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51 NGN7,338.86	$5.15 ZMW102.63	-6.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.88 NGN18,480.74	$6.52 ZMW129.88	-53.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.83 NGN2,442.20	$1.94 ZMW38.66	+5.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.39 NGN3,184.67	$2.87 ZMW57.22	+20.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 NGN1,224.04	$1.53 ZMW30.42	+66.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 NGN883.74	$1.10 ZMW21.94	+65.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 NGN908.26	$1.65 ZMW32.94	+142.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 NGN1,394.13	$0.70 ZMW13.88	-33.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 NGN1,104.11	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+40.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 NGN1,468.62	$0.83 ZMW16.51	-24.9%
Average			+8.2%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.2% more for transportation

	Abuja	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.14 NGN2,847.35	$5.77 ZMW115.01	+169.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.78 NGN43,636.37	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+53.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,143.00 NGN35M	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-71.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.30 NGN9,713.27	$14.58 ZMW290.52	+99.8%
Average			+16.2%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.0% less for housing

	Abuja	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.15 NGN38,810.71	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	+88.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$596.02 NGN793K	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	-35.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.58 NGN467K	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	-48.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.28 NGN115K	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	-28.7%
Average			-37.0%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Abuja	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$45.24 NGN60,218.19	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	+205.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,150.69 NGN4M	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+428.1%
Average			+301.7%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Abuja	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 NGN1,331.21	$1.26 ZMW25.05	+25.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 NGN4,464.03	$2.82 ZMW56.21	-15.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 NGN2,662.42	$3.02 ZMW60.11	+50.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.12 NGN34,764.93	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	+109.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.41 NGN8,530.91	$6.03 ZMW120.22	-5.9%
Average			+24.8%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.2% less for clothing

	Abuja	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.92 NGN34,511.60	$23.28 ZMW463.85	-10.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$60.65 NGN80,732.29	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-74.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.11 NGN104K	$45.19 ZMW900.42	-42.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.08 NGN141K	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	-31.6%
Average			-45.2%

Abuja vs. Lusaka - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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