Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Zambia

Zambia vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 4.3% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 35.7% more in Zambia
Groceries: pay 45.4% more in Zambia
Transportation: pay 12.4% more in Zambia
Housing: pay 4.0% less in Zambia
Childcare: pay 50.7% less in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.0% more in Zambia
Clothing: pay 40.1% less in Zambia

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

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Zambia vs. China Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.7% more for restaurants

	China	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.02 CN¥20.13	$5.53 ZMW112.60	+83.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.16 CN¥34.44	$5.03 ZMW102.36	-2.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.38	$0.63 ZMW12.80	+23.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 CN¥1.97	$0.36 ZMW7.36	+22.6%
Average			+35.7%

China vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.4% more for groceries

	China	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.66 CN¥11.07	$1.18 ZMW23.99	-28.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.71 CN¥44.78	$5.15 ZMW104.86	-23.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.65 CN¥44.42	$6.37 ZMW129.64	-4.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.57 CN¥10.45	$1.77 ZMW36.13	+13.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.12	$2.87 ZMW58.47	+89.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.83 CN¥5.54	$1.11 ZMW22.50	+33.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 CN¥3.91	$1.10 ZMW22.42	+87.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.67 CN¥4.45	$1.65 ZMW33.66	+148.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥3.89	$0.70 ZMW14.19	+19.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 CN¥2.18	$1.16 ZMW23.71	+256.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.67	$0.83 ZMW16.87	+107.4%
Average			+45.4%

China vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.4% more for transportation

	China	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 CN¥31.85	$5.47 ZMW111.35	+14.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.77 CN¥138.66	$50.15 ZMW1,021.16	+141.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	$7,541.11 ZMW154K	-60.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.24 CN¥28.33	$14.58 ZMW296.85	+243.5%
Average			+12.4%

China vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0% less for housing

	China	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.27 CN¥75.24	$54.99 ZMW1,119.57	+387.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$336.09 CN¥2,243.47	$280.45 ZMW5,710.17	-16.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$212.64 CN¥1,419.40	$165.11 ZMW3,361.70	-22.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.92 CN¥286.47	$61.51 ZMW1,252.41	+43.3%
Average			-4.0%

China vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

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pay 50.7% less for childcare

	China	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$500.54 CN¥3,341.13	$138.25 ZMW2,814.92	-72.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,908.16 CN¥126K	$16,638.36 ZMW339K	-12.0%
Average			-50.7%

China vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.0% more for entertainment and sports

	China	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.50	$1.26 ZMW25.59	+11.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥18.96	$2.82 ZMW57.44	-0.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.71 CN¥24.73	$3.02 ZMW61.42	-18.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.75 CN¥278.71	$54.67 ZMW1,113.17	+30.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.28 CN¥41.90	$6.03 ZMW122.83	-3.9%
Average			+6.0%

China vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.1% less for clothing

	China	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.40 CN¥309.70	$23.28 ZMW473.94	-49.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.97 CN¥226.76	$15.45 ZMW314.58	-54.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.79 CN¥492.56	$45.19 ZMW920.02	-38.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 CN¥526.86	$72.53 ZMW1,476.75	-8.1%
Average			-40.1%

China vs. Zambia - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: China vs. Zambia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Zambia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 90.5% less money in Zambia

Size Comparison · See true size

China is about 13 times bigger than Zambia.

Moving from China to Zambia · UN DESA 2020

1,241 people born in China live in Zambia.

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