Cost of living comparison

Somalia

compared to

China

China vs. Somalia Cost of Living Summary

China is 60.9% more expensive than Somalia overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.2% less in China
Groceries: pay 16.4% less in China
Transportation: pay 46.0% more in China
Housing: pay 80.7% more in China
Childcare: pay 18.9 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 67.8% more in China
Clothing: pay 3.1 times more in China

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

Planning a move to China? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

China vs. Somalia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Somalia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.2% less for restaurants

	Somalia	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.33 SOS1,908	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-9.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 SOS2,862	$5.16 CN¥34.52	+3.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 SOS595	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-51.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 SOS437	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-61.4%
Average			-18.2%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.4% less for groceries

	Somalia	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.35 SOS775	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+22.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.50 SOS1,431	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+168.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.02 SOS4,020	$6.65 CN¥44.53	-5.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 SOS1,250	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-28.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 SOS1,157	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-25.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 SOS671	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-29.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 SOS476	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-29.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SOS649	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-41.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 SOS335	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 SOS357	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-47.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.74 SOS422	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-45.8%
Average			-16.4%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.0% more for transportation

	Somalia	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.57 SOS2,041	$4.77 CN¥31.92	+33.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.17 SOS6,968	$20.77 CN¥138.99	+70.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$10,000.00 SOS6M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	+88.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.78 SOS3,882	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-37.4%
Average			+46.0%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 80.7% more for housing

	Somalia	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.56 SOS22,639	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-71.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$143.33 SOS82,036	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	+134.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$77.50 SOS44,357	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	+174.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$78.38 SOS44,862	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-45.2%
Average			+80.7%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.9 times more for childcare

	Somalia	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$51.67 SOS29,571	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+868.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$515.00 SOS295K	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+3571.5%
Average			+1786.0%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Somalia	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	??	$1.12 CN¥7.52
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.67 SOS954	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+70.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.00 SOS572	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+270.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.58 SOS19,794	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+20.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$6.28 CN¥41.99
Average			+67.8%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1 times more for clothing

	Somalia	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$12.50 SOS7,154	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+271.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.33 SOS9,348	$33.97 CN¥227.29	+108.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$18.50 SOS10,588	$73.79 CN¥493.72	+298.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$25.83 SOS14,786	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+205.5%
Average			+211.4%

Somalia vs. China - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: Somalia vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in China?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 21.0 times more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Somalia is about 15 times smaller than China.

Moving from Somalia to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Somalia vs.

Kenya

Somalia vs.

Ethiopia

Somalia vs.

Yemen

Somalia vs.

United Kingdom

Somalia vs.

United States

Somalia vs.

Libya

Somalia vs.

Djibouti

Somalia vs.

Sweden

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Mogadishu vs. Beijing

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Somalia

Add prices for China

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about China or Somalia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.