Cost of living comparison

compared to

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 18.3% cheaper than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.6% less in Zambia
Groceries: pay 7.4% less in Zambia
Transportation: pay 0.6% more in Zambia
Housing: pay 28.3% less in Zambia
Childcare: pay 15.2% more in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.7% less in Zambia
Clothing: pay 36.0% less in Zambia

The cost of childcare and transportation in Zambia are more expensive than in Saudi Arabia. Expenses including entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Zambia.

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zambia instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.6% less for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.32 SAR23.70	$7.35 ZMW168.07	+16.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$3.72 ZMW84.98	-51.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 SAR2.79	$0.49 ZMW11.21	-34.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 SAR1.02	$0.26 ZMW5.93	-4.9%
Average			-18.6%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.4% less for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 SAR3.43	$0.77 ZMW17.54	-16.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 SAR13.56	$3.76 ZMW86.00	+4.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.74 SAR25.26	$4.89 ZMW111.81	-27.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 SAR9.47	$1.53 ZMW35.05	-39.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 SAR12.28	$1.78 ZMW40.78	-45.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 SAR3.63	$0.90 ZMW20.49	-7.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.91	$0.73 ZMW16.65	-6.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR3.00	$1.22 ZMW27.95	+53.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 SAR2.77	$0.50 ZMW11.42	-32.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.49	$0.89 ZMW20.25	+33.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 SAR2.43	$0.67 ZMW15.30	+3.1%
Average			-7.4%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.6% more for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.32 SAR8.72	$4.58 ZMW104.62	+96.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.84 SAR126.92	$38.52 ZMW880.51	+13.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	$8,004.53 ZMW182,982.35	-68.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.00 SAR71.26	$11.53 ZMW263.64	-39.3%
Average			+0.6%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.3% less for housing

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.04 SAR277.70	$118.37 ZMW2,705.91	+59.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	$176.52 ZMW4,035.26	-59.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	$115.74 ZMW2,645.69	-67.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.42 SAR365.42	$52.70 ZMW1,204.80	-45.9%
Average			-28.3%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

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pay 15.2% more for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	$176.79 ZMW4,041.38	-49.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	$11,677.88 ZMW266,954.64	+80.1%
Average			+15.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.89 SAR7.09	$0.98 ZMW22.32	-48.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 SAR13.06	$2.05 ZMW46.80	-41.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.47 SAR28.00	$3.67 ZMW84.00	-50.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.43 SAR399.18	$50.47 ZMW1,153.70	-52.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.24 SAR64.67	$4.18 ZMW95.66	-75.7%
Average			-53.7%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.0% less for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.71 SAR182.69	$18.93 ZMW432.67	-61.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.50 SAR215.68	$16.99 ZMW388.39	-70.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.56 SAR332.16	$84.33 ZMW1,927.74	-4.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.17 SAR296.96	$73.12 ZMW1,671.60	-7.6%
Average			-36.0%

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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