Cost of living comparison

Libya

compared to

China

China vs. Libya Cost of Living Summary

China is 89.1% more expensive than Libya overall.

Restaurants: pay 43.0% more in China
Groceries: pay 59.8% more in China
Transportation: pay 3.4 times more in China
Housing: pay 38.4% more in China
Childcare: pay 14.2 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 89.4% more in China
Clothing: pay 46.0% more in China

The cost of childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in China are more expensive than in Libya. Notably, childcare, transportation, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in China.

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China vs. Libya Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.0% more for restaurants

	Libya	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 LYD19.190	$3.02 CN¥20.18	+1.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.54 LYD16.350	$5.16 CN¥34.52	+102.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 LYD2.840	$0.51 CN¥3.39	+15.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.12 LYD0.760	$0.29 CN¥1.97	+149.4%
Average			+43.0%

Libya vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.8% more for groceries

	Libya	China
Bread 1 loaf	$0.20 LYD1.260	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+748.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.61 LYD16.800	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+156.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.28 LYD21.130	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+102.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.44 LYD9.250	$1.57 CN¥10.47	+8.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 LYD9.460	$1.52 CN¥10.14	+3.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.04 LYD6.680	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-20.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 LYD4.650	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-18.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.39 LYD2.530	$0.67 CN¥4.46	+69.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 LYD1.820	$0.58 CN¥3.90	+105.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 LYD2.260	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-7.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.24 LYD1.530	$0.40 CN¥2.67	+67.4%
Average			+59.8%

Libya vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.4 times more for transportation

	Libya	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$0.09 LYD0.570	$4.77 CN¥31.92	+5298.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.91 LYD250.270	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-46.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,715.60 LYD127K	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-4.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.36 LYD28.030	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-2.6%
Average			+239.7%

Libya vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.4% more for housing

	Libya	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.23 LYD155.860	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-53.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$229.15 LYD1,473.790	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	+46.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$111.20 LYD715.200	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	+91.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$59.51 LYD382.760	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-27.9%
Average			+38.4%

Libya vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 14.2 times more for childcare

	Libya	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$52.03 LYD334.610	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+862.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$907.96 LYD5,839.540	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+1982.5%
Average			+1315.5%

Libya vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 89.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Libya	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 LYD7.170	$1.12 CN¥7.52	+0.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.53 LYD3.400	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+436.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.92 LYD12.350	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+93.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$18.76 LYD120.680	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+122.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.45 LYD35.040	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+15.2%
Average			+89.4%

Libya vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.0% more for clothing

	Libya	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.16 LYD187.530	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+59.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$23.17 LYD149.050	$33.97 CN¥227.29	+46.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$51.06 LYD328.400	$73.79 CN¥493.72	+44.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.63 LYD377.070	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+34.6%
Average			+46.0%

Libya vs. China - 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

Compare further: Libya vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 2.1 times more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Libya is about 5 times smaller than China.

Moving from Libya to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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