Cost of living comparison

Afghanistan

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Afghanistan Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 76.2% more expensive than Afghanistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 89.2% more in Malawi
Groceries: pay 2.4 times more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 26.8% more in Malawi
Housing: pay 45.3% more in Malawi
Childcare: pay 3.2 times more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 90.2% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Malawi

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

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Malawi vs. Afghanistan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Afghanistan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 89.2% more for restaurants

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.77 AFN180	$4.50 MWK7,814.70	+62.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 AFN300	$8.57 MWK14,880.81	+85.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 AFN31	$1.06 MWK1,845.41	+124.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.15 AFN10	$0.52 MWK902.91	+238.0%
Average			+89.2%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.24 AFN16	$1.58 MWK2,738.49	+557.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.19 AFN142	$4.83 MWK8,388.22	+120.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.21 AFN208	$4.31 MWK7,492.69	+34.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.55 AFN101	$2.31 MWK4,003.47	+48.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.81 AFN118	$2.46 MWK4,278.75	+35.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.32 AFN21	$1.09 MWK1,884.46	+239.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.40 AFN26	$0.81 MWK1,411.72	+105.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.42 AFN27	$0.90 MWK1,557.11	+114.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.24 AFN16	$0.76 MWK1,319.77	+218.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 AFN18	$0.76 MWK1,319.61	+172.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 AFN15	$0.53 MWK920.74	+137.4%
Average			+135.0%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.8% more for transportation

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.19 AFN272	$5.95 MWK10,334.67	+42.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.77 AFN1,350	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-79.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,461.54 AFN550K	$35,205.31 MWK61M	+316.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.77 AFN375	$12.75 MWK22,137.83	+121.0%
Average			+26.8%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.3% more for housing

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$96.92 AFN6,300	$61.21 MWK106K	-36.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$123.08 AFN8,000	$384.08 MWK667K	+212.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$108.80 AFN7,072	$99.97 MWK174K	-8.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$32.46 AFN2,110	$27.53 MWK47,807.03	-15.2%
Average			+45.3%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$20.26 AFN1,317	$370.40 MWK643K	+1728.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,046.15 AFN68,000	$593.71 MWK1M	-43.2%
Average			+222.1%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 90.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 AFN150	$1.64 MWK2,846.35	-29.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.10 AFN71	$2.97 MWK5,154.08	+170.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.38 AFN155	$2.40 MWK4,173.70	+0.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$11.08 AFN720	$45.11 MWK78,336.01	+307.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.31 AFN150	??
Average			+90.2%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Afghanistan	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$10.64 AFN692	$43.37 MWK75,316.66	+307.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.00 AFN1,040	$39.87 MWK69,239.08	+149.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.69 AFN3,750	$48.90 MWK84,923.42	-15.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$25.08 AFN1,630	$70.38 MWK122K	+180.7%
Average			+121.7%

Afghanistan vs. Malawi - 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

Compare further: Afghanistan vs. Malawi

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Malawi?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 81.7% less likely to have access to electricity in Malawi

Size Comparison · See true size

Afghanistan is about 6 times bigger than Malawi.

Moving from Afghanistan to Malawi · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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