Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Burma

Burma vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Burma is 17.6% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.2% less in Burma
Groceries: pay 0.2% less in Burma
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Burma
Housing: pay 14.4% more in Burma
Childcare: pay 4.4 times more in Burma
Entertainment and Sports: pay 49.8% less in Burma
Clothing: pay 88.6% more in Burma

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

Burma vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Burma instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.2% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Burma
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.50 MWK7,814.70	$2.28 MMK4,788	-49.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.57 MWK14,880.81	$3.00 MMK6,300	-65.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 MWK1,845.41	$0.79 MMK1,668	-25.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 MWK902.91	$0.81 MMK1,708	+56.4%
Average			-48.2%

Malawi vs. Burma - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.2% less for groceries

	Malawi	Burma
Bread 1 loaf	$1.58 MWK2,738.49	$1.08 MMK2,263	-31.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,388.22	$4.15 MMK8,716	-14.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.31 MWK7,492.69	$5.14 MMK10,784	+19.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK4,003.47	$1.41 MMK2,964	-38.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 MWK4,278.75	$2.41 MMK5,064	-2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,884.46	$1.99 MMK4,177	+83.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,411.72	$0.48 MMK1,001	-41.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,557.11	$1.23 MMK2,588	+37.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 MWK1,319.77	$0.86 MMK1,810	+13.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 MWK1,319.61	$0.87 MMK1,830	+14.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK920.74	$0.64 MMK1,353	+21.5%
Average			-0.2%

Malawi vs. Burma - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Malawi	Burma
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.95 MWK10,334.67	$34.52 MMK72,482	+480.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	$11.83 MMK24,840	+173.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61M	$30,000.00 MMK63M	-14.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.75 MWK22,137.83	$9.00 MMK18,900	-29.4%
Average			+119.1%

Malawi vs. Burma - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.4% more for housing

	Malawi	Burma
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.21 MWK106K	$18.72 MMK39,315	-69.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.08 MWK667K	$281.90 MMK592K	-26.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$99.97 MWK174K	$196.13 MMK412K	+96.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$27.53 MWK47,807.03	$37.83 MMK79,431	+37.4%
Average			+14.4%

Malawi vs. Burma - Cost of housing

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pay 4.4 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Burma
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$370.40 MWK643K	$369.96 MMK777K	-0.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$593.71 MWK1M	$11,486.84 MMK24M	+1834.8%
Average			+339.6%

Malawi vs. Burma - Cost of childcare

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pay 49.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Burma
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.64 MWK2,846.35	$1.00 MMK2,100	-39.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.97 MWK5,154.08	$1.49 MMK3,123	-49.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.40 MWK4,173.70	$1.32 MMK2,771	-45.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.11 MWK78,336.01	$18.76 MMK39,398	-58.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$2.50 MMK5,250
Average			-49.8%

Malawi vs. Burma - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 88.6% more for clothing

	Malawi	Burma
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.37 MWK75,316.66	$89.36 MMK188K	+106.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.87 MWK69,239.08	$64.37 MMK135K	+61.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$48.90 MWK84,923.42	$100.83 MMK212K	+106.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122K	$129.71 MMK272K	+84.3%
Average			+88.6%

Malawi vs. Burma - 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

Compare further: Malawi vs. Burma

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Burma?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 4.9 times more likely to have access to electricity in Burma

Size Comparison · See true size

Malawi is about 6 times smaller than Burma.

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