Cost of living comparison

Madagascar

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Antananarivo Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 84.6% more expensive than Antananarivo.

Restaurants: pay 16.6% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 56.5% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 8.8% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 10.2 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 77.4% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 38.8% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Antananarivo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Antananarivo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 16.6% more for restaurants

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 MGA12,217	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+65.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.65 MGA25,453	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-7.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 MGA3,563	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-24.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 MGA1,968	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-15.3%
Average			+16.6%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 56.5% more for groceries

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MGA4,618	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+92.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.23 MGA19,053	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+103.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.70 MGA16,668	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+86.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.05 MGA9,239	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-17.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MGA9,115	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-26.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.49 MGA2,217	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+102.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.26 MGA1,155	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+200.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.47 MGA2,117	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+92.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 MGA1,748	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+98.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 MGA1,193	$0.36 CN¥2.40	+35.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.44 MGA1,963	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-0.5%
Average			+56.5%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.8% more for transportation

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.39 MGA19,774	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+13.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,971.37 MGA54M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	+61.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.65 MGA88,575	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-71.2%
Average			+8.8%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.15 MGA258K	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-81.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$325.82 MGA1M	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+218.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$150.37 MGA678K	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+291.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$56.66 MGA255K	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-22.2%
Average			+142.7%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 10.2 times more for childcare

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.03 MGA113K	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+5546.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,998.31 MGA68M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+84.6%
Average			+920.9%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 77.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 MGA4,581	$1.19 CN¥7.98	+17.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.65 MGA7,447	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+102.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.58 MGA7,127	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+135.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.61 MGA133K	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+121.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.65 MGA25,453	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+58.5%
Average			+77.4%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.8% more for clothing

	Antananarivo	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.03 MGA131K	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+87.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.67 MGA125K	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+34.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.50 MGA349K	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-2.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.58 MGA314K	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+51.9%
Average			+38.8%

Antananarivo vs. Shanghai - 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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