Cost of living comparison

Eritrea

compared to

Panama

Panama City vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 96.0% more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 5.3% less in Panama City
Groceries: pay 37.3% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 32.4% less in Panama City
Housing: pay 4.1 times more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 9.0 times more in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.2 times more in Panama City
Clothing: pay 48.5% less in Panama City

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

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Panama City vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Asmara, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.3% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.00 ERN315.00	$11.50 PAB11.50	-45.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$8.00 PAB8.00	+33.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$1.97 PAB1.97	+97.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$1.60 PAB1.60	+60.0%
Average			-5.3%

Asmara vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.3% more for groceries

	Asmara	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	??	$2.52 PAB2.52
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$6.18 PAB6.18	+312.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.06 ERN90.85	$7.09 PAB7.09	+17.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$2.75 PAB2.75	-37.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$3.07 PAB3.07	-74.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$1.87 PAB1.87	-66.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.82 PAB0.82	+42.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$1.92 PAB1.92	+111.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 ERN7.94	$1.86 PAB1.86	+250.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.82 ERN12.25	$1.55 PAB1.55	+89.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 ERN6.35	$1.96 PAB1.96	+362.4%
Average			+37.3%

Asmara vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.4% less for transportation

	Asmara	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.46 ERN141.95	$4.62 PAB4.62	-51.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$21.00 PAB21.00	+162.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	-68.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$16.98 PAB16.98
Average			-32.4%

Asmara vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1 times more for housing

	Asmara	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$48.70 PAB48.70	-75.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	+405.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$874.18 PAB874.18	+337.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$19.12 ERN286.76	$100.29 PAB100.29	+424.6%
Average			+311.9%

Asmara vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 9.0 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$543.33 PAB543.33	+2073.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	+270.8%
Average			+797.7%

Asmara vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.60 ERN9.00	$3.30 PAB3.30	+450.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.80 ERN12.00	$4.11 PAB4.11	+413.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$6.00 PAB6.00
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$46.40 PAB46.40	+71.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.20 ERN18.00	$8.50 PAB8.50	+608.3%
Average			+320.7%

Asmara vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.5% less for clothing

	Asmara	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	$66.67 PAB66.67	-50.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	$48.43 PAB48.43	-59.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$94.62 PAB94.62	-52.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	$111.67 PAB111.67	-25.6%
Average			-48.5%

Asmara vs. Panama City - 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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