Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Ethiopia Cost of Living Summary

China is 3.5% more expensive than Ethiopia overall.

Restaurants: pay 32.0% less in China
Groceries: pay 10.9% less in China
Transportation: pay 0.8% more in China
Housing: pay 70.5% less in China
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.6% more in China
Clothing: pay 29.4% less in China

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

China vs. Ethiopia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.0% less for restaurants

	Ethiopia	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.26 ETB657.34	$2.90 CN¥20.63	-32.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.50 ETB1,002.99	$5.02 CN¥35.73	-22.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 ETB93.76	$0.47 CN¥3.38	-21.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 ETB87.44	$0.28 CN¥1.97	-51.2%
Average			-32.0%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.9% less for groceries

	Ethiopia	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 ETB194.26	$1.63 CN¥11.60	+29.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.34 ETB669.20	$6.32 CN¥45.01	+45.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.42 ETB836.82	$6.70 CN¥47.76	+23.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ETB351.98	$1.56 CN¥11.12	-31.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.76 ETB889.22	$1.52 CN¥10.85	-73.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.08 ETB474.78	$0.74 CN¥5.29	-75.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.43 ETB66.59	$0.55 CN¥3.88	+26.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.06 ETB163.23	$0.62 CN¥4.44	-41.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.40 ETB62.47	$0.50 CN¥3.59	+24.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 ETB42.57	$0.30 CN¥2.14	+9.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 ETB139.81	$0.39 CN¥2.81	-56.5%
Average			-10.9%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.8% more for transportation

	Ethiopia	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.81 ETB742.55	$4.34 CN¥30.89	-9.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.00 ETB1,851.67	$20.32 CN¥144.74	+69.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,000.00 ETB8,486,835.22	$19,143.98 CN¥136,354.94	-65.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.62 ETB557.82	$3.94 CN¥28.08	+9.1%
Average			+0.8%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.5% less for housing

	Ethiopia	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$130.20 ETB20,090.65	$11.18 CN¥79.61	-91.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$815.99 ETB125,912.99	$304.90 CN¥2,171.65	-62.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$512.43 ETB79,070.85	$195.65 CN¥1,393.50	-61.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$121.97 ETB18,820.81	$41.04 CN¥292.33	-66.4%
Average			-70.5%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Ethiopia	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$94.05 ETB14,512.22	$390.25 CN¥2,779.59	+314.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,187.50 ETB4,658,115.24	$15,493.57 CN¥110,354.50	-48.7%
Average			+133.1%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Ethiopia	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.90 ETB138.88	$1.04 CN¥7.41	+15.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.09 ETB167.81	$2.84 CN¥20.20	+160.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.10 ETB786.96	$3.36 CN¥23.93	-34.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.10 ETB9,582.99	$41.13 CN¥292.94	-33.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ETB578.65	$5.98 CN¥42.61	+59.5%
Average			+33.6%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.4% less for clothing

	Ethiopia	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.03 ETB6,948.84	$45.93 CN¥327.12	+2.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB11,598.67	$30.93 CN¥220.31	-58.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.08 ETB14,517.39	$71.26 CN¥507.55	-24.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.09 ETB17,758.61	$72.88 CN¥519.10	-36.7%
Average			-29.4%

Ethiopia vs. China - Cost of clothing

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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: November 2025

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