Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 38.6% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 12.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 22.8% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 0.6% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.9% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 92.2% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.1% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+3.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-20.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-21.5%
Average			-12.1%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.8% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+64.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+66.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-12.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-48.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-34.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-30.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-45.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+10.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-69.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-47.7%
Average			-22.8%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.6% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-14.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-40.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	+156.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-61.1%
Average			+0.6%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-80.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+169.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+228.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-28.4%
Average			+109.4%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+922.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+66.4%
Average			+312.5%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-5.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+18.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+23.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+20.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+48.3%
Average			+20.9%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 92.2% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+133.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+140.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+67.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+45.7%
Average			+92.2%

Lusaka vs. Shanghai - 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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