Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 26.9% cheaper than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 27.5% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 62.7% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 30.5% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 22.9% less in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 59.7% less in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.4% less in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 30.2% more in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.5% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	-34.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	+7.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.34 PKR94.38	-54.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.22 PKR60.62	-53.6%
Average			-27.5%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.7% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$0.75 PKR208.08	-37.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$3.07 PKR851.66	-40.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	-44.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$1.24 PKR343.64	-36.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$1.41 PKR390.48	-51.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.59 PKR163.19	-61.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.38 PKR106.19	-65.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.47 PKR131.67	-71.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.25 PKR68.12	-64.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.13 PKR35.52	-89.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.17 PKR46.29	-79.8%
Average			-62.7%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.5% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	-11.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	-56.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$54,159.34 PKR15M	+618.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	-51.7%
Average			+30.5%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.9% less for housing

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	-69.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	-22.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	+26.7%
Average			-22.9%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 59.7% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	-46.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$5,015.34 PKR1M	-69.9%
Average			-59.7%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+187.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.65 PKR734.15	-6.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$2.30 PKR637.64	-23.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	-48.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	-28.2%
Average			-7.4%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.2% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	+6.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	+125.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+113.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	-44.0%
Average			+30.2%

Lusaka vs. Islamabad - 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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