Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Egypt

Cairo vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Cairo is 38.4% cheaper than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 18.3% less in Cairo
Groceries: pay 62.0% less in Cairo
Transportation: pay 47.3% less in Cairo
Housing: pay 35.2% less in Cairo
Childcare: pay 56.3% less in Cairo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.7% less in Cairo
Clothing: pay 86.8% more in Cairo

Expenses including groceries, childcare, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Cairo. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Cairo.

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Cairo vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.3% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Cairo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$4.77 EGP255.20	-13.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.92 EGP316.45	+17.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.35 EGP18.91	-53.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.15 EGP7.79	-69.1%
Average			-18.3%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.0% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Cairo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$0.76 EGP40.74	-36.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$2.13 EGP114.06	-58.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$3.57 EGP190.86	-45.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$1.18 EGP63.29	-39.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.26 EGP120.71	-21.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.82 EGP43.68	-46.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.35 EGP18.52	-68.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.26 EGP14.08	-84.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.24 EGP12.94	-65.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.18 EGP9.68	-84.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.20 EGP10.49	-76.3%
Average			-62.0%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.3% less for transportation

	Lusaka	Cairo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$1.68 EGP89.66	-70.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$8.59 EGP459.36	-82.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$32,276.12 EGP2M	+328.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$1.91 EGP102.08	-86.9%
Average			-47.3%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.2% less for housing

	Lusaka	Cairo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$14.10 EGP753.78	-74.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$216.90 EGP11,593.41	-43.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$191.78 EGP10,250.57	+6.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$20.76 EGP1,109.77	-66.2%
Average			-35.2%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - Cost of housing

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pay 56.3% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Cairo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$123.08 EGP6,578.51	-11.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$3,562.03 EGP190K	-78.6%
Average			-56.3%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Cairo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.48 EGP79.11	+17.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$1.78 EGP95.02	-37.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$2.01 EGP107.18	-33.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$29.87 EGP1,596.30	-45.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$4.77 EGP255.20	-20.9%
Average			-26.7%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 86.8% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Cairo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$40.94 EGP2,188.35	+75.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$50.61 EGP2,705.13	+227.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$115.71 EGP6,184.87	+156.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$59.84 EGP3,198.52	-17.5%
Average			+86.8%

Lusaka vs. Cairo - 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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