Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 9.7% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 23.4% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 58.9% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 37.2% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 19.3% more in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.8% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 4.7 times more in Asmara

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

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Asmara vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Colombo	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	$21.00 ERN315.00	+449.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	$5.99 ERN89.85	-20.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.56	$1.00 ERN15.00	+42.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.00	$1.00 ERN15.00	+280.7%
Average			+135.0%

Colombo vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.4% more for groceries

	Colombo	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR181.98	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	$1.50 ERN22.50	-78.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	$6.06 ERN90.85	+0.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR541.78	$4.38 ERN65.70	+167.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR731.08	$12.17 ERN182.57	+451.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	$5.54 ERN83.16	+81.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR122.81	$0.58 ERN8.69	+56.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR672.87	$0.91 ERN13.61	-55.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.42	$0.53 ERN7.94	-6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR150.85	$0.82 ERN12.25	+79.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR116.82	$0.42 ERN6.35	+20.0%
Average			+23.4%

Colombo vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.9% more for transportation

	Colombo	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	$9.46 ERN141.95	+84.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	$8.00 ERN120.00	+11.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+80.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	??
Average			+58.9%

Colombo vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.2% less for housing

	Colombo	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+862.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR195K	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-57.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	-26.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	$19.12 ERN286.76	-53.5%
Average			-37.2%

Colombo vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 19.3% more for childcare

	Colombo	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	$25.00 ERN375.00	-33.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR400K	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	+115.1%
Average			+19.3%

Colombo vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR730.76	$0.60 ERN9.00	-72.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR832.69	$0.80 ERN12.00	-68.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	$27.00 ERN405.00	+93.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	$1.20 ERN18.00	-73.5%
Average			-51.8%

Colombo vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.7 times more for clothing

	Colombo	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+644.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+621.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+152.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+259.2%
Average			+370.0%

Colombo vs. Asmara - 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

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