Cost of living comparison

compared to

Afghanistan vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Afghanistan is 14.7% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 25.3% less in Afghanistan
Groceries: pay 50.6% less in Afghanistan
Transportation: pay 4.0% more in Afghanistan
Housing: pay 4.2 times more in Afghanistan
Childcare: pay 93.5% less in Afghanistan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.1% more in Afghanistan
Clothing: pay 67.5% less in Afghanistan

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

Afghanistan vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Afghanistan instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 25.3% less for restaurants

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.61	$2.44 AFN161	-42.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.55	$3.89 AFN257	-20.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.38	$0.45 AFN30	-5.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.16	$0.21 AFN14	-33.0%
Average			-25.3%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.6% less for groceries

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.02	$0.20 AFN13	-88.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.59	$2.26 AFN150	-69.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.76	$2.59 AFN172	-61.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.51	$1.53 AFN101	-14.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.78	$1.65 AFN110	+8.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.92	$0.26 AFN17	-74.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.42	$0.41 AFN27	-47.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.64	$0.34 AFN23	-57.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.24	$0.24 AFN16	-60.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.45	$0.21 AFN14	-39.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.90	$0.19 AFN12	-54.3%
Average			-50.6%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% more for transportation

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.65	$4.06 AFN269	-3.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥222.11	$16.25 AFN1,076	-48.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,328.71	$9,043.81 AFN599,291	-50.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.58	$10.12 AFN670	+118.7%
Average			+4.0%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.2 times more for housing

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.05	$194.20 AFN12,869	+1401.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,585.07	$87.87 AFN5,823	-90.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,551.57	$51.69 AFN3,425	-89.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥276.47	$63.00 AFN4,174	+60.4%
Average			+320.4%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - Cost of housing

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pay 93.5% less for childcare

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,004.56	$46.37 AFN3,073	-93.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥163,654.36	$1,476.83 AFN97,863	-93.6%
Average			-93.5%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.90	$4.87 AFN323	+334.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.43	$1.11 AFN73	-61.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.61	$1.92 AFN127	-54.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥407.23	$10.12 AFN670	-82.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.23	$3.32 AFN220	-60.5%
Average			+15.1%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 67.5% less for clothing

	Beijing	Afghanistan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥438.66	$11.08 AFN734	-82.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥256.10	$17.72 AFN1,174	-51.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥575.54	$33.97 AFN2,251	-58.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥743.05	$23.20 AFN1,537	-78.0%
Average			-67.5%

Beijing vs. Afghanistan - 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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