Cost of living comparison

Somalia

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Mogadishu Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 9.8% more expensive than Mogadishu.

Restaurants: pay 5.9% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 51.2% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 46.2% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 26.5% more in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.3% more in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Mogadishu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Islamabad instead of Mogadishu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.9% less for restaurants

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.00 SOS1,717	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+20.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.50 SOS2,576	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	+20.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 SOS668	$0.34 PKR94.38	-70.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 SOS296	$0.22 PKR60.62	-57.7%
Average			-5.9%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.2% less for groceries

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 SOS930	$0.75 PKR208.08	-53.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.50 SOS1,431	$3.07 PKR851.66	+22.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.92 SOS2,817	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	-26.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 SOS1,087	$1.24 PKR343.64	-34.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.76 SOS1,006	$1.41 PKR390.48	-19.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 SOS974	$0.59 PKR163.19	-65.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.45 SOS260	$0.38 PKR106.19	-15.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 SOS779	$0.47 PKR131.67	-65.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 SOS332	$0.25 PKR68.12	-57.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 SOS389	$0.13 PKR35.52	-81.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 SOS454	$0.17 PKR46.29	-79.0%
Average			-51.2%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.2% more for transportation

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.38 SOS1,935	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	+51.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$21.66 PKR6,006.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$54,159.34 PKR15M
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.40 SOS3,091	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	+30.4%
Average			+46.2%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.5% more for housing

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.67 SOS38,156	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	-74.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$195.00 SOS112K	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	+40.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$77.50 SOS44,357	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	+80.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.35 SOS70,028	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	-36.3%
Average			+26.5%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$78.33 SOS44,834	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	-4.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$760.00 SOS435K	$5,015.34 PKR1M	+559.9%
Average			+150.7%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	??	$3.61 PKR1,001.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 SOS1,145	$2.65 PKR734.15	+32.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$2.30 PKR637.64
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.67 SOS18,124	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	-10.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$4.33 PKR1,201.20
Average			+6.3%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Mogadishu	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.00 SOS8,013	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	+77.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$14.00 SOS8,013	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	+149.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$25.00 SOS14,309	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+285.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.50 SOS18,601	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	+25.0%
Average			+114.8%

Mogadishu vs. Islamabad - 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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