Cost of living comparison

compared to

Port Moresby vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Port Moresby is 91.0% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants
pay 61.6% more in Port Moresby
Groceries
pay 96.2% more in Port Moresby
Transportation
pay 59.8% more in Port Moresby
Housing
pay 2.9 times more in Port Moresby
Childcare
pay 95.7% more in Port Moresby
Entertainment and Sports
pay 85.6% more in Port Moresby
Clothing
pay 50.9% more in Port Moresby

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

Port Moresby vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Port Moresby instead of Lusaka, you would:

pay 61.6% more for restaurants

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.48
ZMW172.19
$9.48
PGK40.21
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$3.82
ZMW87.99
$5.92
PGK25.13
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.62
ZMW14.25
$0.77
PGK3.27

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pay 96.2% more for groceries

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Bread
1 loaf
$0.77
ZMW17.67
$1.55
PGK6.60
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
ZMW86.62
$2.19
PGK9.30
Milk (1 gallon) $4.99
ZMW114.88
$7.39
PGK31.35

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pay 59.8% more for transportation

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.58
ZMW105.38
$4.14
PGK17.57
Monthly public transit pass $38.52
ZMW886.94
$23.69
PGK100.53
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $8,004.53
ZMW184,318.08
$22,387.96
PGK94,999.61

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$118.37
ZMW2,725.66
$165.84
PGK703.70
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $226.58
ZMW5,217.38
$1,066.09
PGK4,523.79
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $123.07
ZMW2,833.97
$473.82
PGK2,010.57

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pay 95.7% more for childcare

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $176.79
ZMW4,070.88
$631.76
PGK2,680.77
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $11,677.88
ZMW268,903.36
$3,968.24
PGK16,838.56

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pay 85.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.98
ZMW22.49
$2.37
PGK10.05
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.05
ZMW47.14
$2.25
PGK9.55
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.67
ZMW84.61
$6.75
PGK28.65

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pay 50.9% more for clothing

 
Lusaka
Port Moresby
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$18.93
ZMW435.83
$31.15
PGK132.20
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$16.99
ZMW391.23
$36.48
PGK154.81
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$84.33
ZMW1,941.82
$76.40
PGK324.21

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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: December 2025
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