Cost of living comparison

Solomon Islands

compared to

Zambia

Zambia vs. Solomon Islands Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 42.3% cheaper than Solomon Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.7% less in Zambia
Groceries: pay 35.2% less in Zambia
Transportation: pay 3.6% less in Zambia
Housing: pay 67.5% less in Zambia
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.7% less in Zambia
Clothing: pay 53.6% less in Zambia

Expenses including housing, clothing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Zambia. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Zambia.

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Zambia vs. Solomon Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zambia instead of Solomon Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.7% less for restaurants

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.82 SBD55.00	$5.53 ZMW110.20	-18.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.40 SBD100.00	$5.03 ZMW100.18	-59.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.55 SBD12.50	$0.63 ZMW12.52	-59.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 SBD8.75	$0.36 ZMW7.20	-66.7%
Average			-45.7%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.2% less for groceries

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 SBD12.08	$1.18 ZMW23.48	-21.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.27 SBD26.33	$5.15 ZMW102.63	+57.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.62 SBD77.60	$6.37 ZMW126.88	-33.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.60 SBD45.20	$1.77 ZMW35.36	-68.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.87 SBD31.18	$2.87 ZMW57.22	-25.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.85 SBD23.02	$1.11 ZMW22.03	-61.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.20 SBD9.64	$1.10 ZMW21.94	-7.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.88 SBD31.30	$1.65 ZMW32.94	-57.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.69 SBD13.61	$0.70 ZMW13.88	-58.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 SBD7.17	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+31.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.55 SBD12.47	$0.83 ZMW16.51	-46.4%
Average			-35.2%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.6% less for transportation

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 SBD40.27	$5.47 ZMW108.98	+9.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.80 SBD199.99	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+102.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,598.79 SBD150K	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-59.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.16 SBD90.00	$14.58 ZMW290.52	+30.6%
Average			-3.6%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.5% less for housing

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$89.89 SBD724.96	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	-38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$888.61 SBD7,166.32	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	-68.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$433.97 SBD3,499.83	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	-62.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$331.86 SBD2,676.34	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	-81.5%
Average			-67.5%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$99.19 SBD799.96	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	+39.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,851.81 SBD22,998.88	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+483.4%
Average			+185.2%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 SBD20.00	$1.26 ZMW25.05	-49.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 SBD27.50	$2.82 ZMW56.21	-17.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.15 SBD33.50	$3.02 ZMW60.11	-27.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.20 SBD299.99	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	+47.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.34 SBD35.00	$6.03 ZMW120.22	+39.0%
Average			-2.7%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.6% less for clothing

	Solomon Islands	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.28 SBD219.99	$23.28 ZMW463.85	-14.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$92.99 SBD749.96	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-83.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.13 SBD783.30	$45.19 ZMW900.42	-53.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.29 SBD832.96	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	-29.8%
Average			-53.6%

Solomon Islands vs. Zambia - 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

Compare further: Solomon Islands vs. Zambia

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Size Comparison · See true size

Solomon Islands is about 26 times smaller than Zambia.

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