Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lusaka vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 43.1% more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 47.7% less in Lusaka
Groceries
pay 2.4% less in Lusaka
Housing
pay 2.9 times more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports
pay 43.2% less in Lusaka

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Lusaka. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Lusaka.

Lusaka vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lusaka instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 47.7% less for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$5.53
ZMW110.20
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$5.03
ZMW100.18
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$0.75
ZMW15.03

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pay 2.4% less for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
$1.20
ZMW23.92
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $5.15
ZMW102.63
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$6.52
ZMW129.88

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.77
ZMW115.01
Monthly public transit pass ?? $50.15
ZMW999.41
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $7,541.11
ZMW150K

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $54.99
ZMW1,095.72
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$384.95
ZMW7,670.79
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$179.40
ZMW3,574.79

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $138.25
ZMW2,754.96
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $16,638.36
ZMW332K

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pay 43.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$1.26
ZMW25.05
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$2.82
ZMW56.21
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.02
ZMW60.11

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Lusaka
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $23.28
ZMW463.85
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $15.45
ZMW307.88
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $45.19
ZMW900.42

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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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