Cost of living comparison

Bolivia

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Bolivia Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 28.4% more expensive than Bolivia overall.

Restaurants: pay 87.0% more in Malawi
Groceries: pay 85.2% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 30.9% more in Malawi
Housing: pay 4.9% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 18.8% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.6% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 22.8% more in Malawi

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

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Malawi vs. Bolivia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Bolivia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 87.0% more for restaurants

	Bolivia	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.00 BOB23.44	$4.50 MWK7,814.70	+124.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 BOB53.06	$8.57 MWK14,880.81	+88.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 BOB8.31	$1.06 MWK1,845.41	+49.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BOB6.12	$0.52 MWK902.91	-0.7%
Average			+87.0%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 85.2% more for groceries

	Bolivia	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.97 BOB11.38	$1.58 MWK2,738.49	+62.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.77 BOB20.69	$4.83 MWK8,388.22	+173.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 BOB31.04	$4.31 MWK7,492.69	+62.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.33 BOB15.50	$2.31 MWK4,003.47	+73.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.28 BOB15.01	$2.46 MWK4,278.75	+91.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 BOB9.46	$1.09 MWK1,884.46	+34.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.36 BOB4.25	$0.81 MWK1,411.72	+123.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.37 BOB4.34	$0.90 MWK1,557.11	+141.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 BOB7.38	$0.76 MWK1,319.77	+20.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 BOB3.65	$0.76 MWK1,319.61	+143.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BOB3.60	$0.53 MWK920.74	+72.3%
Average			+85.2%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.9% more for transportation

	Bolivia	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.28 BOB26.70	$5.95 MWK10,334.67	+160.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.33 BOB249.40	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-79.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$13,953.84 BOB163K	$35,205.31 MWK61M	+152.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.32 BOB85.57	$12.75 MWK22,137.83	+74.2%
Average			+30.9%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.9% less for housing

	Bolivia	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.45 BOB250.79	$61.21 MWK106K	+185.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$279.68 BOB3,270.08	$384.08 MWK667K	+37.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$198.23 BOB2,317.77	$99.97 MWK174K	-49.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$20.53 BOB240.01	$27.53 MWK47,807.03	+34.1%
Average			-4.9%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 18.8% less for childcare

	Bolivia	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$120.46 BOB1,408.41	$370.40 MWK643K	+207.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,766.38 BOB32,345.61	$593.71 MWK1M	-78.5%
Average			-18.8%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Bolivia	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.39 BOB16.21	$1.64 MWK2,846.35	+18.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.70 BOB19.90	$2.97 MWK5,154.08	+74.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.72 BOB20.16	$2.40 MWK4,173.70	+39.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.62 BOB264.50	$45.11 MWK78,336.01	+99.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.70 BOB54.99	??
Average			+59.6%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.8% more for clothing

	Bolivia	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$30.62 BOB358.01	$43.37 MWK75,316.66	+41.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.25 BOB341.97	$39.87 MWK69,239.08	+36.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$52.01 BOB608.10	$48.90 MWK84,923.42	-6.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.19 BOB657.00	$70.38 MWK122K	+25.3%
Average			+22.8%

Bolivia vs. Malawi - 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

Compare further: Bolivia vs. Malawi

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Malawi?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Make 87.0% less money in Malawi

Size Comparison · See true size

Bolivia is about 9 times bigger than Malawi.

Moving from Bolivia to Malawi · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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