Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 29.5% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 35.6% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 34.6% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 62.4% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 95.9% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 72.1% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in Asmara

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

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Asmara vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$21.00 ERN315.00	+369.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.99 ERN89.85	+14.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.00 ERN15.00	+66.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.00 ERN15.00	+170.3%
Average			+144.6%

Shanghai vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$1.50 ERN22.50	-82.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.06 ERN90.85	-11.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$4.38 ERN65.70	+158.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$12.17 ERN182.57	+723.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$5.54 ERN83.16	+457.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.58 ERN8.69	-24.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.91 ERN13.61	+0.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.53 ERN7.94	-31.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.82 ERN12.25	+128.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.42 ERN6.35	-2.3%
Average			+35.6%

Shanghai vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.6% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$9.46 ERN141.95	+90.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$8.00 ERN120.00	-73.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+244.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	??
Average			+34.6%

Shanghai vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.4% less for housing

	Shanghai	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+1795.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-75.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	-66.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$19.12 ERN286.76	-56.6%
Average			-62.4%

Shanghai vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 95.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$25.00 ERN375.00	-98.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	-90.6%
Average			-95.9%

Shanghai vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 72.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$0.60 ERN9.00	-49.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$0.80 ERN12.00	-76.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$27.00 ERN405.00	-58.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$1.20 ERN18.00	-86.6%
Average			-72.1%

Shanghai vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Shanghai	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+148.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+223.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+164.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+41.9%
Average			+134.4%

Shanghai 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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