Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 38.7% cheaper than Male.

Restaurants: pay 59.4% more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 12.6% less in Asmara
Transportation: pay 24.5% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 70.5% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 65.8% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 80.7% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 2.7 times more in Asmara

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

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Asmara vs. Male Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Male, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.4% more for restaurants

	Male	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$21.00 ERN315.00	+249.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$5.99 ERN89.85	-38.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$1.00 ERN15.00	-38.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$1.00 ERN15.00	+236.6%
Average			+59.4%

Male vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.6% less for groceries

	Male	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$1.50 ERN22.50	-71.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$6.06 ERN90.85	-21.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$4.38 ERN65.70	+127.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$12.17 ERN182.57	+340.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$5.54 ERN83.16	+207.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.58 ERN8.69	-58.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$0.91 ERN13.61	-51.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$0.53 ERN7.94	-56.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$0.82 ERN12.25	-12.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$0.42 ERN6.35	-50.8%
Average			-12.6%

Male vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.5% more for transportation

	Male	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$9.46 ERN141.95	+148.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$8.00 ERN120.00	-74.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+105.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	??
Average			+24.5%

Male vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.5% less for housing

	Male	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+174.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-73.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	-71.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$19.12 ERN286.76	-79.0%
Average			-70.5%

Male vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 65.8% less for childcare

	Male	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$25.00 ERN375.00	-86.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	-13.5%
Average			-65.8%

Male vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 80.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$0.60 ERN9.00	-87.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$0.80 ERN12.00	-77.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$27.00 ERN405.00	-61.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$1.20 ERN18.00	-87.7%
Average			-80.7%

Male vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.7 times more for clothing

	Male	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+241.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+141.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+129.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+185.6%
Average			+171.3%

Male vs. Asmara - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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See the cost of living in Maldives vs. Eritrea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Maldives and Eritrea.

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