Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bamako vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Bamako is 53.1% more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants
pay 29.3% less in Bamako
Groceries
pay 61.8% more in Bamako
Transportation
pay 48.2% less in Bamako
Housing
pay 57.8% more in Bamako
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.2 times more in Bamako

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

Bamako vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bamako instead of Asmara, you would:

pay 29.3% less for restaurants

 
Asmara
Bamako
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $12.00
ERN180.00
$6.70
F CFA3,777
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.99
ERN89.85
$6.42
F CFA3,619
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.25
ERN18.75
$0.77
F CFA435

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pay 61.8% more for groceries

 
Asmara
Bamako
Bread
1 loaf
?? $3.84
F CFA2,162
Local cheese (8 oz) $1.50
ERN22.50
$8.91
F CFA5,019
Milk (1 gallon) $5.30
ERN79.49
$8.86
F CFA4,991

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pay 48.2% less for transportation

 
Asmara
Bamako
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.52
ERN127.76
$4.41
F CFA2,486
Monthly public transit pass $8.00
ERN120.00
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $66,666.00
ERN999,990.00
??

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pay 57.8% more for housing

 
Asmara
Bamako
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
$57.51
F CFA32,399
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $475.00
ERN7,125.00
$175.00
F CFA98,585
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $400.00
ERN6,000.00
$80.00
F CFA45,067

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Asmara
Bamako
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $25.00
ERN375.00
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,675.00
ERN25,125.00
??

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pay 3.2 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Asmara
Bamako
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.80
ERN12.00
$2.39
F CFA1,344
Cappuccino in mid-range area $0.82
ERN12.38
$1.89
F CFA1,065
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $0.93
F CFA526

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Asmara
Bamako
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$82.50
ERN1,237.50
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$75.00
ERN1,125.00
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
??

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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