Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Tajikistan

Tajikistan vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Tajikistan is 7.0% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 20.5% less in Tajikistan
Groceries: pay 31.3% less in Tajikistan
Transportation: pay 4.1% more in Tajikistan
Housing: pay 62.8% more in Tajikistan
Childcare: pay 46.8% more in Tajikistan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.0% less in Tajikistan
Clothing: pay 11.6% less in Tajikistan

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

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Tajikistan vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.5% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.50 MWK7,814.70	$4.88 TJS44.99	+8.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.57 MWK14,880.81	$5.42 TJS49.99	-36.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 MWK1,845.41	$0.57 TJS5.28	-46.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 MWK902.91	$0.34 TJS3.12	-34.9%
Average			-20.5%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.3% less for groceries

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.58 MWK2,738.49	$0.56 TJS5.18	-64.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,388.22	$5.53 TJS50.99	+14.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.31 MWK7,492.69	$4.02 TJS37.14	-6.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK4,003.47	$1.81 TJS16.68	-21.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 MWK4,278.75	$1.74 TJS16.06	-29.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,884.46	$0.76 TJS7.03	-29.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,411.72	$1.17 TJS10.77	+43.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,557.11	$1.20 TJS11.11	+34.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 MWK1,319.77	$0.41 TJS3.74	-46.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 MWK1,319.61	$0.25 TJS2.30	-67.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK920.74	$0.17 TJS1.59	-67.6%
Average			-31.3%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.1% more for transportation

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.95 MWK10,334.67	$4.37 TJS40.37	-26.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	$32.50 TJS299.95	+652.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61M	$16,250.83 TJS150K	-53.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.75 MWK22,137.83	$3.68 TJS33.99	-71.1%
Average			+4.1%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.8% more for housing

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.21 MWK106K	$17.18 TJS158.54	-71.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.08 MWK667K	$449.43 TJS4,147.64	+17.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$99.97 MWK174K	$284.71 TJS2,627.56	+184.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$27.53 MWK47,807.03	$43.80 TJS404.21	+59.1%
Average			+62.8%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - Cost of housing

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pay 46.8% more for childcare

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$370.40 MWK643K	$83.42 TJS769.87	-77.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$593.71 MWK1M	$5,679.67 TJS52,416.23	+856.6%
Average			+46.8%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.64 MWK2,846.35	$1.19 TJS11.00	-27.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.97 MWK5,154.08	$1.71 TJS15.75	-42.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.40 MWK4,173.70	$2.98 TJS27.50	+24.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.11 MWK78,336.01	$36.56 TJS337.44	-18.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$4.88 TJS44.99
Average			-24.0%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.6% less for clothing

	Malawi	Tajikistan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.37 MWK75,316.66	$22.66 TJS209.13	-47.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.87 MWK69,239.08	$44.38 TJS409.60	+11.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$48.90 MWK84,923.42	$64.10 TJS591.57	+31.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122K	$56.34 TJS519.91	-20.0%
Average			-11.6%

Malawi vs. Tajikistan - 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. Tajikistan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Tajikistan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 6.4 times more likely to have access to electricity in Tajikistan

Size Comparison · See true size

Malawi is about 1.2 times smaller than Tajikistan.

Moving from Malawi to Tajikistan · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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