Cost of living comparison

compared to

Somalia vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Somalia is 6.2% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 11.3% more in Somalia
Groceries: pay 25.2% more in Somalia
Transportation: pay 9.1% less in Somalia
Housing: pay 28.7% more in Somalia
Childcare: pay 95.7% less in Somalia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.6% more in Somalia
Clothing: pay 65.4% less in Somalia

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

Somalia vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.3% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Somalia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$2.88 SOS1,640	-31.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$4.62 SOS2,638	-5.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.74 SOS421	+53.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.40 SOS226	+28.9%
Average			+11.3%

Beijing vs. Somalia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.2% more for groceries

	Beijing	Somalia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.12 SOS642	-34.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$2.17 SOS1,236	-71.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$7.78 SOS4,436	+17.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.51 SOS1,433	+41.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$2.44 SOS1,391	+59.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$1.49 SOS848	+51.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.98 SOS561	+27.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$1.27 SOS726	+59.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.62 SOS355	+3.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.64 SOS364	+82.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.58 SOS331	+40.5%
Average			+25.2%

Beijing vs. Somalia - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.1% less for transportation

	Beijing	Somalia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$3.87 SOS2,207	-8.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$25.00 SOS14,262	-20.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$5,750.00 SOS3,280,215	-68.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$7.43 SOS4,241	+60.7%
Average			-9.1%

Beijing vs. Somalia - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.7% more for housing

	Beijing	Somalia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$37.79 SOS21,559	+192.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$142.93 SOS81,538	-84.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$98.19 SOS56,012	-80.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$73.70 SOS42,043	+87.7%
Average			+28.7%

Beijing vs. Somalia - Cost of housing

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pay 95.7% less for childcare

	Beijing	Somalia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$43.33 SOS24,720	-93.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$585.00 SOS333,726	-97.5%
Average			-95.7%

Beijing vs. Somalia - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Somalia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$7.00 SOS3,993	+524.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$1.19 SOS677	-59.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$1.10 SOS628	-73.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$33.33 SOS19,016	-42.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$5.00 SOS2,852	-40.6%
Average			+61.6%

Beijing vs. Somalia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 65.4% less for clothing

	Beijing	Somalia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$15.25 SOS8,700	-75.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$19.78 SOS11,283	-45.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$19.89 SOS11,346	-75.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$37.28 SOS21,266	-64.7%
Average			-65.4%

Beijing vs. Somalia - 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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