Cost of living comparison

Mauritania

compared to

Laos

Vientiane vs. Nouakchott Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 41.9% more expensive than Nouakchott.

Restaurants: pay 23.7% less in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 40.5% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 99.2% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 70.1% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 44.2% more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.7% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 39.1% more in Vientiane

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

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Vientiane vs. Nouakchott Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vientiane instead of Nouakchott, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.7% less for restaurants

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.49 MRO895	$2.67 LAK60,254	+7.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.93 MRO2,130	$5.35 LAK121K	-9.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.76 MRO632	$0.71 LAK16,068	-59.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.14 MRO770	$0.37 LAK8,410	-82.6%
Average			-23.7%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.5% more for groceries

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.27 MRO96	$1.14 LAK25,737	+326.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.99 MRO1,074	$13.59 LAK306K	+354.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.02 MRO2,160	$7.61 LAK171K	+26.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.32 MRO832	$1.87 LAK42,101	-19.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 MRO882	$2.81 LAK63,330	+14.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 MRO518	$1.09 LAK24,464	-24.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.84 MRO302	$0.52 LAK11,662	-38.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 MRO257	$1.19 LAK26,832	+66.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 MRO185	$0.69 LAK15,639	+34.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 MRO157	$0.66 LAK14,918	+51.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 MRO147	$0.49 LAK10,995	+19.0%
Average			+40.5%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 99.2% more for transportation

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 MRO1,945	$5.62 LAK127K	+3.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.81 MRO7,831	$48.44 LAK1M	+122.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,478.76 MRO3M	$28,190.13 LAK635M	+276.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.86 MRO1,387	$8.47 LAK191K	+119.1%
Average			+99.2%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.1% more for housing

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.83 MRO21,479	$12.33 LAK278K	-79.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$291.49 MRO105K	$643.47 LAK15M	+120.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$174.41 MRO62,615	$414.50 LAK9M	+137.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$98.49 MRO35,360	$69.22 LAK2M	-29.7%
Average			+70.1%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 44.2% more for childcare

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$443.74 MRO159K	$625.02 LAK14M	+40.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,503.69 MRO3M	$11,083.07 LAK250M	+47.7%
Average			+44.2%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.75 MRO626	$1.36 LAK30,629	-22.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.28 MRO819	$1.79 LAK40,336	-21.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 MRO895	$1.78 LAK40,169	-28.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$86.63 MRO31,100	$47.54 LAK1M	-45.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.05 MRO1,454	$4.23 LAK95,401	+4.5%
Average			-23.7%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.1% more for clothing

	Nouakchott	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$15.21 MRO5,459	$26.74 LAK603K	+75.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.85 MRO8,204	$66.85 LAK2M	+192.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.31 MRO24,522	$56.75 LAK1M	-16.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$46.74 MRO16,780	$41.00 LAK924K	-12.3%
Average			+39.1%

Nouakchott vs. Vientiane - 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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