Cost of living comparison

compared to

Madagascar vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Madagascar is 15.6% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 49.3% more in Madagascar
Groceries: pay 7.9% less in Madagascar
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Madagascar
Housing: pay 92.4% more in Madagascar
Childcare: pay 66.2% less in Madagascar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.4% less in Madagascar
Clothing: pay 31.6% less in Madagascar

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

Madagascar vs. China Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Madagascar instead of China, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.3% more for restaurants

	China	Madagascar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 CN¥20.44	$3.04 MGA13,451	+5.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.02 CN¥35.39	$4.73 MGA20,920	-5.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 CN¥3.35	$0.82 MGA3,626	+72.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 CN¥1.95	$0.62 MGA2,753	+125.1%
Average			+49.3%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.9% less for groceries

	China	Madagascar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 CN¥11.49	$0.88 MGA3,877	-46.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.32 CN¥44.58	$5.36 MGA23,715	-15.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 CN¥47.30	$3.89 MGA17,199	-42.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.56 CN¥11.02	$1.97 MGA8,716	+26.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.75	$2.63 MGA11,653	+72.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.24	$0.64 MGA2,835	-13.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.55 CN¥3.85	$0.33 MGA1,469	-39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 CN¥4.40	$0.57 MGA2,503	-9.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 CN¥3.56	$0.41 MGA1,808	-18.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 CN¥2.12	$0.29 MGA1,268	-4.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 CN¥2.78	$0.40 MGA1,790	+2.6%
Average			-7.9%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	China	Madagascar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 CN¥30.59	$4.44 MGA19,637	+2.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.32 CN¥143.36	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,143.98 CN¥135,051.24	$12,651.72 MGA55,957,976	-33.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.94 CN¥27.81	$17.17 MGA75,943	+335.5%
Average			+101.3%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 92.4% more for housing

	China	Madagascar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.18 CN¥78.85	$60.23 MGA266,414	+438.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$304.90 CN¥2,150.88	$257.49 MGA1,138,873	-15.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.65 CN¥1,380.18	$71.69 MGA317,091	-63.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.04 CN¥289.54	$44.95 MGA198,795	+9.5%
Average			+92.4%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 66.2% less for childcare

	China	Madagascar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$390.25 CN¥2,753.01	$46.54 MGA205,845	-88.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,493.57 CN¥109,299.39	$8,634.52 MGA38,190,069	-44.3%
Average			-66.2%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.4% less for entertainment and sports

	China	Madagascar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥7.34	$0.82 MGA3,611	-21.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥20.01	$1.33 MGA5,880	-53.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 CN¥23.70	$1.73 MGA7,669	-48.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.13 CN¥290.14	$29.94 MGA132,435	-27.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.98 CN¥42.21	$6.47 MGA28,632	+8.2%
Average			-28.4%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.6% less for clothing

	China	Madagascar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.93 CN¥323.99	$19.48 MGA86,145	-57.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.93 CN¥218.20	$17.20 MGA76,096	-44.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.26 CN¥502.70	$70.84 MGA313,320	-0.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.88 CN¥514.13	$55.48 MGA245,375	-23.9%
Average			-31.6%

China vs. Madagascar - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

China vs.

Italy

China vs.

Austria

China vs.

Peru

China vs.

United Kingdom

China vs.

Ecuador

China vs.

United States

China vs.

Egypt

China vs.

Poland

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Beijing vs. Antananarivo

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for China

Add prices for Madagascar

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Madagascar or China. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.