Cost of living comparison

Uganda

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 17.7% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 72.9% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 63.9% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 22.7% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 82.3% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 67.3% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 6.7 times more in Asmara

The cost of clothing, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Asmara are more expensive than in Kampala. Expenses including childcare, 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. Kampala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Kampala	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.45 UGX10,151	$21.00 ERN315.00	+755.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 UGX30,452	$5.99 ERN89.85	-18.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 UGX1,523	$1.00 ERN15.00	+171.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 UGX1,107	$1.00 ERN15.00	+273.5%
Average			+208.2%

Kampala vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 72.9% more for groceries

	Kampala	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 UGX3,747	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX9,009	$1.50 ERN22.50	-31.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.90 UGX11,976	$6.06 ERN90.85	+109.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.58 UGX6,530	$4.38 ERN65.70	+177.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 UGX8,472	$12.17 ERN182.57	+494.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 UGX3,939	$5.54 ERN83.16	+482.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 UGX2,353	$0.58 ERN8.69	+1.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.59 UGX2,430	$0.91 ERN13.61	+54.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 UGX2,225	$0.53 ERN7.94	-1.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.82 ERN12.25	+46.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.42 ERN6.35	-23.9%
Average			+72.9%

Kampala vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 63.9% more for transportation

	Kampala	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.31 UGX21,961	$9.46 ERN141.95	+78.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.68 UGX177K	$8.00 ERN120.00	-81.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,361.98 UGX30M	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+805.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.94 UGX12,181	??
Average			+63.9%

Kampala vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.7% less for housing

	Kampala	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.66 UGX143K	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+477.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$482.64 UGX2M	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-48.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$167.36 UGX692K	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+19.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.08 UGX220K	$19.12 ERN286.76	-64.0%
Average			-22.7%

Kampala vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 82.3% less for childcare

	Kampala	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.43 UGX1M	$25.00 ERN375.00	-90.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,279.19 UGX34M	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	-68.6%
Average			-82.3%

Kampala vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 67.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 UGX5,075	$0.60 ERN9.00	-51.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 UGX10,471	$0.80 ERN12.00	-68.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.45 UGX10,151	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.21 UGX228K	$27.00 ERN405.00	-51.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.36 UGX30,452	$1.20 ERN18.00	-83.7%
Average			-67.3%

Kampala vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.7 times more for clothing

	Kampala	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.80 UGX57,098	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+878.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$12.88 UGX53,292	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+831.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.90 UGX132K	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+526.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.25 UGX179K	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+246.8%
Average			+567.1%

Kampala 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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