Cost of living comparison

Eritrea

compared to

Syria

Damascus vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Damascus is 2.7% cheaper than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 19.3% less in Damascus
Groceries: pay 49.3% less in Damascus
Transportation: pay 24.7% less in Damascus
Housing: pay 57.1% more in Damascus
Childcare: pay 35.1% more in Damascus
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8 times more in Damascus
Clothing: pay 69.9% less in Damascus

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

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Damascus vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.3% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Damascus
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.00 ERN315.00	$10.00 SYP130K	-52.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$7.00 SYP91,014	+16.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$2.25 SYP29,254	+125.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.85 SYP11,008	-15.3%
Average			-19.3%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.3% less for groceries

	Asmara	Damascus
Bread 1 loaf	??	$0.40 SYP5,199
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$1.96 SYP25,477	+30.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.06 ERN90.85	$4.03 SYP52,433	-33.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$1.59 SYP20,653	-63.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$2.59 SYP33,645	-78.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$0.47 SYP6,174	-91.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.63 SYP8,218	+9.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$0.51 SYP6,582	-44.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 ERN7.94	$0.47 SYP6,154	-10.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.82 ERN12.25	$0.35 SYP4,563	-57.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 ERN6.35	$0.35 SYP4,608	-16.3%
Average			-49.3%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.7% less for transportation

	Asmara	Damascus
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.46 ERN141.95	$13.98 SYP182K	+47.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$10.00 SYP130K	+25.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	$15,000.00 SYP195M	-77.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$13.15 SYP171K
Average			-24.7%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.1% more for housing

	Asmara	Damascus
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$46.25 SYP601K	-76.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	$523.33 SYP7M	+109.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$186.00 SYP2M	-7.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$19.12 ERN286.76	$107.06 SYP1M	+460.0%
Average			+57.1%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of housing

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pay 35.1% more for childcare

	Asmara	Damascus
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$66.67 SYP867K	+166.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	$1,780.73 SYP23M	-31.5%
Average			+35.1%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Damascus
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.60 ERN9.00	$2.00 SYP26,004	+233.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.80 ERN12.00	$3.71 SYP48,293	+364.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$2.77 SYP36,000
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$28.00 SYP364K	+3.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.20 ERN18.00	$5.50 SYP71,511	+358.3%
Average			+183.4%

Asmara vs. Damascus - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.9% less for clothing

	Asmara	Damascus
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	$28.60 SYP372K	-78.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	$40.00 SYP520K	-66.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$60.00 SYP780K	-70.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	$58.33 SYP758K	-61.1%
Average			-69.9%

Asmara vs. Damascus - 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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