Cost of living comparison

compared to

Damascus vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Damascus is 21.5% more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 10.4% less in Damascus
Groceries: pay 37.6% less in Damascus
Transportation: pay 39.5% more in Damascus
Housing: pay 62.6% more in Damascus
Childcare: pay 49.2% more in Damascus
Entertainment and Sports: pay 91.8% more in Damascus
Clothing: pay 44.6% less in Damascus

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

Damascus vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 10.4% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Damascus
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.00 ERN180.00	$8.00 SYP104,016	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$6.00 SYP78,012	+0.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 ERN18.75	$1.37 SYP17,769	+9.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.82 SYP10,683	-17.8%
Average			-10.4%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.6% less for groceries

	Asmara	Damascus
Bread 1 loaf	??	$0.50 SYP6,447
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$1.61 SYP20,885	+7.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.30 ERN79.49	$3.76 SYP48,876	-29.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$1.91 SYP24,801	-56.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$3.25 SYP42,227	-73.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$0.45 SYP5,857	-91.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.76 SYP9,879	+31.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$0.49 SYP6,389	-45.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ERN7.56	$0.34 SYP4,423	-32.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ERN10.43	$0.32 SYP4,162	-54.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 ERN6.50	$0.30 SYP3,890	-31.0%
Average			-37.6%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.5% more for transportation

	Asmara	Damascus
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.52 ERN127.76	$15.62 SYP203,114	+83.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$17.00 SYP221,034	+112.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	$15,000.00 SYP195,030,000	-77.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$7.00 SYP91,014
Average			+39.5%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.6% more for housing

	Asmara	Damascus
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$55.00 SYP715,110	-72.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	$243.84 SYP3,170,438	-48.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	$176.43 SYP2,293,994	-55.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$21.03 ERN315.44	$110.88 SYP1,441,692	+427.3%
Average			+62.6%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of housing

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pay 49.2% more for childcare

	Asmara	Damascus
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$49.17 SYP639,265	+96.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	$1,704.59 SYP22,163,040	+1.8%
Average			+49.2%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of childcare

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pay 91.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Damascus
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.80 ERN12.00	$1.60 SYP20,803	+100.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.82 ERN12.38	$1.93 SYP25,137	+134.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$3.00 SYP39,006
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$16.25 SYP211,282	-39.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.10 ERN16.50	$3.00 SYP39,006	+172.7%
Average			+91.8%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.6% less for clothing

	Asmara	Damascus
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	$44.25 SYP575,338	-46.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	$41.25 SYP536,332	-45.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$57.50 SYP747,615	-71.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	$80.00 SYP1,040,160	-15.8%
Average			-44.6%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of clothing

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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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