Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 20.4% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 5.8% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 11.7% less in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 6.9% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 49.9% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 30.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Kuala Lumpur

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

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.8% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$4.89 MYR19.98	-11.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$4.89 MYR19.98	-2.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.81 MYR3.30	+7.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.46 MYR1.88	-2.3%
Average			-5.8%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.7% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$1.09 MYR4.47	-8.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$7.00 MYR28.58	+35.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$7.96 MYR32.51	+22.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$2.53 MYR10.32	+30.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.02 MYR8.25	-29.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$1.55 MYR6.32	+1.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.82 MYR3.34	-25.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$1.04 MYR4.23	-37.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.71 MYR2.91	+2.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.59 MYR2.41	-49.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.62 MYR2.54	-25.0%
Average			-11.7%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.9% less for transportation

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$3.22 MYR13.14	-44.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$12.24 MYR49.96	-75.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+453.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$11.01 MYR44.96	-24.5%
Average			-6.9%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.9% more for housing

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$26.27 MYR107.27	-52.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	+60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	+107.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$47.56 MYR194.21	-22.7%
Average			+49.9%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 30.6% more for childcare

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	+116.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	-21.1%
Average			+30.6%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$4.40 MYR17.99	+250.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$3.10 MYR12.64	+9.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$4.40 MYR17.99	+46.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$48.89 MYR199.62	-10.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$5.02 MYR20.48	-16.8%
Average			+26.3%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$71.46 MYR291.78	+207.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$41.92 MYR171.18	+171.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$86.22 MYR352.05	+90.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$96.07 MYR392.29	+32.5%
Average			+114.2%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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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