Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lusaka vs. Bishkek Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 58.7% more expensive than Bishkek.

Restaurants: pay 9.7% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 59.7% more in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Lusaka
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 55.5% more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.5% more in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 37.9% less in Lusaka

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

Lusaka vs. Bishkek Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lusaka instead of Bishkek, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.7% less for restaurants

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.86 KGS600.00	$7.48 ZMW170.94	+9.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.72 KGS500.00	$3.82 ZMW87.36	-33.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 KGS60.00	$0.62 ZMW14.15	-9.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 KGS31.09	$0.34 ZMW7.73	-4.9%
Average			-9.7%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.7% more for groceries

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$0.49 KGS42.62	$0.77 ZMW17.54	+57.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.06 KGS355.39	$3.76 ZMW86.00	-7.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.57 KGS312.12	$4.99 ZMW114.04	+39.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.72 KGS150.42	$1.77 ZMW40.40	+2.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 KGS190.68	$1.78 ZMW40.78	-18.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.49 KGS43.27	$1.22 ZMW27.91	+146.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 KGS74.62	$0.73 ZMW16.65	-14.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 KGS81.41	$1.22 ZMW27.95	+31.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 KGS62.37	$0.50 ZMW11.42	-29.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 KGS22.54	$0.89 ZMW20.25	+243.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 KGS19.17	$0.67 ZMW15.30	+205.3%
Average			+59.7%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.11 KGS272.26	$4.58 ZMW104.62	+47.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.66 KGS1,020.00	$38.52 ZMW880.51	+230.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,735.85 KGS3,300,000.00	$8,004.53 ZMW182,982.35	-78.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.20 KGS280.00	$12.00 ZMW274.33	+274.8%
Average			+118.3%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.91 KGS1,041.67	$118.37 ZMW2,705.91	+893.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$506.26 KGS44,272.71	$226.58 ZMW5,179.57	-55.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$375.78 KGS32,861.85	$123.07 ZMW2,813.44	-67.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.63 KGS2,591.13	$52.70 ZMW1,204.80	+77.9%
Average			+212.3%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 55.5% more for childcare

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.59 KGS17,454.55	$176.79 ZMW4,041.38	-11.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,249.21 KGS459,043.75	$11,677.88 ZMW266,954.64	+122.5%
Average			+55.5%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.37 KGS120.00	$0.98 ZMW22.32	-28.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.13 KGS186.30	$2.05 ZMW46.80	-3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.83 KGS160.00	$3.67 ZMW84.00	+100.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.97 KGS4,107.14	$50.47 ZMW1,153.70	+7.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.80 KGS420.00	$4.18 ZMW95.66	-12.9%
Average			+12.5%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.9% less for clothing

	Bishkek	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$38.88 KGS3,400.00	$18.93 ZMW432.67	-51.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.76 KGS3,476.92	$16.99 ZMW388.39	-57.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.12 KGS8,405.88	$84.33 ZMW1,927.74	-12.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.77 KGS9,250.00	$73.12 ZMW1,671.60	-30.9%
Average			-37.9%

Bishkek vs. Lusaka - 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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