Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 26.8% cheaper than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 3.1% more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 19.3% less in Asmara
Transportation: pay 76.2% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 65.8% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 28.6% more in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 81.6% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 7.5 times more in Asmara

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

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Asmara vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1% more for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$21.00 ERN315.00	+152.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$5.99 ERN89.85	-42.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$1.00 ERN15.00	-64.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$1.00 ERN15.00	-59.3%
Average			+3.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.3% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$1.50 ERN22.50	-66.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$6.06 ERN90.85	+2.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$4.38 ERN65.70	-14.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$12.17 ERN182.57	+356.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$5.54 ERN83.16	+341.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.58 ERN8.69	-53.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$0.91 ERN13.61	-31.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$0.53 ERN7.94	-68.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.82 ERN12.25	-43.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.42 ERN6.35	-64.5%
Average			-19.3%

Nuku'alofa vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 76.2% more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$9.46 ERN141.95	+72.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$8.00 ERN120.00	-80.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+1046.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	??
Average			+76.2%

Nuku'alofa vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.8% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-59.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$200.00 ERN3,000.00
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$19.12 ERN286.76	-86.6%
Average			-65.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 28.6% more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$25.00 ERN375.00	-84.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	+943.4%
Average			+28.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 81.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$0.60 ERN9.00	-81.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$0.80 ERN12.00	-72.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$27.00 ERN405.00	-13.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$1.20 ERN18.00	-97.1%
Average			-81.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.5 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+828.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+579.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+863.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+415.9%
Average			+648.4%

Nuku'alofa 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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