Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Zimbabwe is 11.4% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 61.8% more in Zimbabwe
Groceries: pay 19.1% more in Zimbabwe
Transportation: pay 68.9% more in Zimbabwe
Housing: pay 7.4% more in Zimbabwe
Childcare: pay 54.0% less in Zimbabwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.9% more in Zimbabwe
Clothing: pay 46.3% less in Zimbabwe

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

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Zimbabwe vs. China Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.8% more for restaurants

	China	Zimbabwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.02 CN¥20.13	$7.25 ZWL2,334.50	+140.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.16 CN¥34.44	$5.38 ZWL1,730.75	+4.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.38	$0.73 ZWL234.79	+43.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 CN¥1.97	$0.42 ZWL135.90	+43.2%
Average			+61.8%

China vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.1% more for groceries

	China	Zimbabwe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.66 CN¥11.07	$1.00 ZWL322.00	-39.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.71 CN¥44.78	$5.28 ZWL1,701.44	-21.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.65 CN¥44.42	$5.96 ZWL1,919.26	-10.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.57 CN¥10.45	$1.90 ZWL611.53	+21.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.12	$2.12 ZWL682.33	+39.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.83 CN¥5.54	$1.10 ZWL353.72	+32.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 CN¥3.91	$0.73 ZWL236.30	+25.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.67 CN¥4.45	$1.02 ZWL328.63	+53.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥3.89	$0.59 ZWL188.63	+0.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 CN¥2.18	$0.67 ZWL217.09	+106.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.67	$0.72 ZWL231.09	+79.6%
Average			+19.1%

China vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 68.9% more for transportation

	China	Zimbabwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 CN¥31.85	$6.57 ZWL2,116.06	+37.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.77 CN¥138.66	$45.00 ZWL14,490.00	+116.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	$23,500.00 ZWL8M	+24.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.24 CN¥28.33	$19.50 ZWL6,279.00	+359.5%
Average			+68.9%

China vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.4% more for housing

	China	Zimbabwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.27 CN¥75.24	$88.24 ZWL28,414.33	+682.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$336.09 CN¥2,243.47	$282.50 ZWL90,965.00	-15.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$212.64 CN¥1,419.40	$212.05 ZWL68,280.10	-0.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.92 CN¥286.47	$55.83 ZWL17,977.33	+30.1%
Average			+7.4%

China vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of housing

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pay 54.0% less for childcare

	China	Zimbabwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$500.54 CN¥3,341.13	$331.89 ZWL107K	-33.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,908.16 CN¥126K	$6,027.78 ZWL2M	-68.1%
Average			-54.0%

China vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.9% more for entertainment and sports

	China	Zimbabwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.50	$1.38 ZWL442.75	+22.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥18.96	$2.56 ZWL825.12	-9.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.71 CN¥24.73	$1.75 ZWL563.50	-52.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.75 CN¥278.71	$39.58 ZWL12,745.83	-5.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.28 CN¥41.90	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+59.3%
Average			+4.9%

China vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.3% less for clothing

	China	Zimbabwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.40 CN¥309.70	$22.24 ZWL7,160.03	-52.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.97 CN¥226.76	$16.41 ZWL5,282.85	-51.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.79 CN¥492.56	$42.46 ZWL13,673.21	-42.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 CN¥526.86	$49.35 ZWL15,890.90	-37.5%
Average			-46.3%

China vs. Zimbabwe - 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. Zimbabwe

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Zimbabwe?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 2.0 times more likely to be unemployed in Zimbabwe

Size Comparison · See true size

China is about 25 times bigger than Zimbabwe.

Moving from China to Zimbabwe · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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