Cost of living comparison

Afghanistan

compared to

Somalia

Somalia vs. Afghanistan Cost of Living Summary

Somalia is 24.0% more expensive than Afghanistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 41.9% more in Somalia
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Somalia
Transportation: pay 11.6% less in Somalia
Housing: pay 1.3% more in Somalia
Childcare: pay 12.1% more in Somalia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.7% more in Somalia
Clothing: pay 20.7% less in Somalia

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

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Somalia vs. Afghanistan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 41.9% more for restaurants

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.77 AFN180	$3.33 SOS1,908	+20.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.62 AFN300	$5.00 SOS2,862	+8.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 AFN31	$1.04 SOS595	+119.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.15 AFN10	$0.76 SOS437	+396.5%
Average			+41.9%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.24 AFN16	$1.35 SOS775	+464.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.19 AFN142	$2.50 SOS1,431	+14.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.21 AFN208	$7.02 SOS4,020	+119.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.55 AFN101	$2.18 SOS1,250	+40.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.81 AFN118	$2.02 SOS1,157	+11.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.32 AFN21	$1.17 SOS671	+266.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.40 AFN26	$0.83 SOS476	+110.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.42 AFN27	$1.13 SOS649	+170.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.24 AFN16	$0.59 SOS335	+145.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 AFN18	$0.62 SOS357	+123.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 AFN15	$0.74 SOS422	+230.1%
Average			+127.3%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6% less for transportation

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.19 AFN272	$3.57 SOS2,041	-14.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.77 AFN1,350	$12.17 SOS6,968	-41.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,461.54 AFN550K	$10,000.00 SOS6M	+18.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.77 AFN375	$6.78 SOS3,882	+17.6%
Average			-11.6%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.3% more for housing

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$96.92 AFN6,300	$39.56 SOS22,639	-59.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$123.08 AFN8,000	$143.33 SOS82,036	+16.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$108.80 AFN7,072	$77.50 SOS44,357	-28.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$32.46 AFN2,110	$78.38 SOS44,862	+141.5%
Average			+1.3%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - Cost of housing

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pay 12.1% more for childcare

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$20.26 AFN1,317	$51.67 SOS29,571	+155.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,046.15 AFN68,000	$515.00 SOS295K	-50.8%
Average			+12.1%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 AFN150	??
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.10 AFN71	$1.67 SOS954	+51.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.38 AFN155	$1.00 SOS572	-58.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$11.08 AFN720	$34.58 SOS19,794	+212.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.31 AFN150	??
Average			+66.7%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.7% less for clothing

	Afghanistan	Somalia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$10.64 AFN692	$12.50 SOS7,154	+17.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.00 AFN1,040	$16.33 SOS9,348	+2.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$57.69 AFN3,750	$18.50 SOS10,588	-67.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$25.08 AFN1,630	$25.83 SOS14,786	+3.0%
Average			-20.7%

Afghanistan vs. Somalia - 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. Somalia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Somalia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 73.6% more likely to have internet access in Somalia

Size Comparison · See true size

Afghanistan is around the same size as Somalia.

Moving from Afghanistan to Somalia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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