Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Malawi

Lilongwe vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 57.8% cheaper than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 62.1% less in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 57.9% less in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 51.6% more in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 83.1% less in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 15.3 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 74.9% less in Lilongwe

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

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Lilongwe vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 62.1% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.31	$5.00 MWK8,683.00	-84.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.13	$10.25 MWK17,800.16	-20.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.52	$1.26 MWK2,182.36	-20.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.01	$0.57 MWK984.76	-33.8%
Average			-62.1%

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.9% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.15	$1.82 MWK3,155.26	-10.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT66.06	$7.88 MWK13,683.33	-58.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.98	$4.73 MWK8,212.45	-72.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.06	$2.90 MWK5,041.67	-51.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.84	$2.38 MWK4,131.01	-73.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.07	$1.17 MWK2,026.12	-49.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.49	$0.56 MWK979.47	-85.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.94	$0.68 MWK1,181.56	-80.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.87	$1.03 MWK1,786.72	-38.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.64	$0.92 MWK1,593.81	-11.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.45 MWK787.71	-30.0%
Average			-57.9%

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.6% more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.69	$6.03 MWK10,463.30	+271.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.10	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-56.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.10	??
Average			+51.6%

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 83.1% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT361.03	$61.21 MWK106K	-40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,964.14	$540.71 MWK939K	-61.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,510.00	$85.13 MWK148K	-91.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,533.78	$34.63 MWK60,134.34	-92.1%
Average			-83.1%

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 15.3 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.23	$350.00 MWK608K	+1431.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT87,073.07	??
Average			+1431.3%

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 74.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.06	$2.20 MWK3,823.26	-61.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.82	$3.21 MWK5,580.44	-52.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.26	$2.43 MWK4,223.25	-90.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT685.29	$30.85 MWK53,568.54	-84.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.09	??
Average			-74.9%

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Ashgabat	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.56	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT401.14	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,278.64	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT676.93	??

Ashgabat vs. Lilongwe - 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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