Cost of living comparison

compared to

Phnom Penh vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 57.8% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 78.9% more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 41.4% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 44.9% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.7% more in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 7.3% more in Phnom Penh

The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Phnom Penh are more expensive than in Lusaka. Notably, childcare, transportation, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Phnom Penh instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 78.9% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW193.75	$5.00 KHR20,100.00	-30.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW102.67	$7.00 KHR28,140.00	+83.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW19.17	$1.12 KHR4,515.80	+57.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW8.89	$1.01 KHR4,064.54	+205.6%
Average			+78.9%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.4% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW19.87	$1.85 KHR7,437.00	+150.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW97.68	$6.08 KHR24,455.00	+67.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW130.37	$8.07 KHR32,433.26	+66.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW51.71	$1.90 KHR7,630.69	-1.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW48.27	$1.87 KHR7,521.70	+4.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW32.27	$2.17 KHR8,737.33	+81.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW16.22	$0.87 KHR3,477.57	+43.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW33.99	$1.89 KHR7,585.52	+49.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW15.13	$0.67 KHR2,709.12	+19.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW25.68	$0.76 KHR3,069.46	-20.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW18.10	$0.65 KHR2,613.60	-3.5%
Average			+41.4%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW128.04	$4.40 KHR17,670.12	-7.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW995.07	$10.60 KHR42,612.00	-71.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW215,065.29	$49,000.00 KHR196,980,000.00	+512.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW325.90	$9.00 KHR36,180.00	-25.8%
Average			+101.8%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.9% more for housing

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,383.19	$22.30 KHR89,641.35	-82.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,761.10	$502.11 KHR2,018,463.16	+134.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW3,088.70	$277.36 KHR1,114,970.19	+141.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,243.52	$72.12 KHR289,940.95	-13.6%
Average			+44.9%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,749.97	$340.00 KHR1,366,800.00	+92.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW176,533.85	$13,900.83 KHR55,881,350.00	+111.6%
Average			+101.9%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW25.98	$1.50 KHR6,030.00	+55.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW55.71	$2.77 KHR11,150.71	+33.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW66.88	$2.00 KHR8,040.00	-19.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,107.28	$48.33 KHR194,300.00	+17.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW94.02	$5.50 KHR22,110.00	+57.2%
Average			+28.7%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.3% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW495.31	$24.67 KHR99,160.00	+33.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW504.69	$20.80 KHR83,616.00	+10.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,422.86	$93.00 KHR373,860.00	+3.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,223.63	$67.67 KHR272,020.00	-18.2%
Average			+7.3%

Lusaka vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: May 2025

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