Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 2.2% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 13.6% more in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 46.4% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 19.7% less in Bishkek
Housing: pay 44.8% more in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 13.5% less in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.1% less in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Bishkek

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

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Bishkek vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bishkek instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.6% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$6.86 KGS600.01	+24.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.83 KGS510.01	+16.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.74 KGS65.00	-1.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.39 KGS33.88	-17.8%
Average			+13.6%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.4% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$0.40 KGS34.67	-67.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$3.82 KGS334.23	-25.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$3.81 KGS333.12	-41.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$1.73 KGS151.13	-10.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.08 KGS181.82	-27.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.63 KGS54.76	-59.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.84 KGS73.57	-23.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.93 KGS81.76	-43.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.72 KGS62.84	+3.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.27 KGS23.90	-76.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.22 KGS19.28	-73.4%
Average			-46.4%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.7% less for transportation

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$3.74 KGS326.93	-35.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$11.66 KGS1,020.02	-76.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$29,991.94 KGS3M	+297.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$4.52 KGS395.01	-69.0%
Average			-19.7%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.8% more for housing

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$12.00 KGS1,049.18	-78.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$603.19 KGS52,748.92	+56.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$416.93 KGS36,460.58	+132.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$38.42 KGS3,359.98	-37.5%
Average			+44.8%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

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pay 13.5% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$219.56 KGS19,200.33	+58.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$7,837.88 KGS685K	-52.9%
Average			-13.5%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.37 KGS120.00	+9.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.43 KGS212.36	-13.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$2.06 KGS180.00	-31.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$54.84 KGS4,795.54	+0.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$5.72 KGS500.01	-5.2%
Average			-6.1%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$55.40 KGS4,844.53	+138.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$43.07 KGS3,766.73	+178.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$90.57 KGS7,920.14	+100.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$90.22 KGS7,890.14	+24.4%
Average			+101.7%

Lusaka vs. Bishkek - 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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