Cost of living comparison
compared to
Zambia vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary
Zambia is 42.0% cheaper than Maldives overall.
Zambia vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Zambia instead of Maldives, you would:
pay 28.7% less for restaurants
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.00
MVR92.74
|
$5.53
ZMW111.38
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.57
MVR147.88
|
$5.03
ZMW101.25
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.63
MVR25.12
|
$0.63
ZMW12.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.30
MVR4.59
|
$0.36
ZMW7.28
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.7% less for groceries
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.65
MVR25.57
|
$1.18
ZMW23.73
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.48
MVR53.75
|
$5.15
ZMW103.72
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.83
MVR105.52
|
$6.37
ZMW128.23
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.87
MVR28.89
|
$1.77
ZMW35.73
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.76
MVR42.72
|
$2.87
ZMW57.84
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.80
MVR27.83
|
$1.11
ZMW22.26
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.39
MVR21.40
|
$1.10
ZMW22.17
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.59
MVR24.56
|
$1.65
ZMW33.30
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
MVR18.83
|
$0.70
ZMW14.03
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
MVR11.63
|
$1.16
ZMW23.45
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.69
MVR10.63
|
$0.83
ZMW16.69
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries
pay 18.7% less for transportation
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
MVR58.81
|
$5.47
ZMW110.15
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.82
MVR476.23
|
$50.15
ZMW1,010.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,446.46
MVR501K
|
$7,541.11
ZMW152K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.52
MVR270.70
|
$14.58
ZMW293.63
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation
pay 69.5% less for housing
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$73.00
MVR1,127.92
|
$54.99
ZMW1,107.45
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,043.39
MVR16,120.31
|
$280.45
ZMW5,648.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$739.32
MVR11,422.43
|
$165.11
ZMW3,325.30
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$85.19
MVR1,316.15
|
$61.51
ZMW1,238.85
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$184.92
MVR2,857.02
|
$138.25
ZMW2,784.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,003.87
MVR46,409.85
|
$16,638.36
ZMW335K
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare
pay 48.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.87
MVR75.19
|
$1.26
ZMW25.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.55
MVR54.82
|
$2.82
ZMW56.81
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.95
MVR215.56
|
$3.02
ZMW60.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$70.81
MVR1,093.98
|
$54.67
ZMW1,101.12
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.73
MVR150.39
|
$6.03
ZMW121.50
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 39.8% less for clothing
|
Maldives
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$39.51
MVR610.41
|
$23.28
ZMW468.81
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.63
MVR766.77
|
$15.45
ZMW311.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.11
MVR1,345.89
|
$45.19
ZMW910.06
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$52.50
MVR811.17
|
$72.53
ZMW1,460.76
|
|
Maldives vs. Zambia - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Maldives vs. Zambia
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