Cost of living comparison

Eritrea

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 24.6% cheaper than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 66.3% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 63.5% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 3.2% less in Islamabad
Housing: pay 2.0% less in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8 times more in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 71.1% less in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 66.3% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.00 ERN315.00	$3.61 PKR1,000.60	-82.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$5.42 PKR1,500.90	-9.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.34 PKR94.34	-66.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.22 PKR60.59	-78.1%
Average			-66.3%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 63.5% less for groceries

	Asmara	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	??	$0.75 PKR207.99
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$3.07 PKR851.32	+104.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.06 ERN90.85	$3.63 PKR1,006.10	-40.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$1.24 PKR343.50	-71.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$1.41 PKR390.32	-88.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$0.59 PKR163.12	-89.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.38 PKR106.15	-33.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$0.47 PKR131.62	-47.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 ERN7.94	$0.25 PKR68.09	-53.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.82 ERN12.25	$0.13 PKR35.51	-84.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 ERN6.35	$0.17 PKR46.27	-60.6%
Average			-63.5%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.2% less for transportation

	Asmara	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.46 ERN141.95	$5.11 PKR1,415.40	-46.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$21.66 PKR6,003.60	+170.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	$54,159.34 PKR15M	-18.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$7.04 PKR1,951.17
Average			-3.2%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0% less for housing

	Asmara	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$17.07 PKR4,730.11	-91.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	$273.02 PKR75,662.04	+9.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$139.79 PKR38,739.90	-30.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$19.12 ERN286.76	$77.95 PKR21,601.19	+307.7%
Average			-2.0%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$74.62 PKR20,679.07	+198.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	$5,015.34 PKR1M	+92.9%
Average			+139.9%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.60 ERN9.00	$3.61 PKR1,000.60	+501.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.80 ERN12.00	$2.65 PKR733.85	+231.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$2.30 PKR637.38
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$28.23 PKR7,822.87	+4.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.20 ERN18.00	$4.33 PKR1,200.72	+261.1%
Average			+181.2%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.1% less for clothing

	Asmara	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	$24.82 PKR6,879.13	-81.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	$34.87 PKR9,662.61	-70.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$96.43 PKR26,724.48	-51.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	$40.62 PKR11,256.75	-72.9%
Average			-71.1%

Asmara vs. Islamabad - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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