Cost of living comparison

Syria

compared to

China

China vs. Syria Cost of Living Summary

China is 28.0% more expensive than Syria overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.3% less in China
Groceries: pay 27.6% more in China
Transportation: pay 3.5% more in China
Housing: pay 34.3% more in China
Childcare: pay 10.0 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.9% more in China
Clothing: pay 1.6% less in China

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

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.3% less for restaurants

	Syria	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 SYP78,012	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-49.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.25 SYP68,260	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-1.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 SYP19,370	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-66.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 SYP9,728	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-60.6%
Average			-40.3%

Syria vs. China - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.6% more for groceries

	Syria	China
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 SYP7,359	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+192.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.66 SYP34,538	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+152.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 SYP57,812	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+49.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.06 SYP26,749	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-23.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.58 SYP33,595	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-41.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.48 SYP6,207	$0.83 CN¥5.55	+73.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 SYP9,778	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 SYP6,024	$0.67 CN¥4.46	+43.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 SYP5,036	$0.58 CN¥3.90	+50.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 SYP4,529	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-6.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.37 SYP4,837	$0.40 CN¥2.67	+7.4%
Average			+27.6%

Syria vs. China - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5% more for transportation

	Syria	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.74 SYP101K	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-38.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.50 SYP84,513	$20.77 CN¥138.99	+219.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,646.72 SYP229M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	+6.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.26 SYP159K	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-65.4%
Average			+3.5%

Syria vs. China - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.3% more for housing

	Syria	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.42 SYP434K	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-66.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$234.29 SYP3M	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	+43.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$104.84 SYP1M	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	+102.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.18 SYP938K	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-40.5%
Average			+34.3%

Syria vs. China - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.0 times more for childcare

	Syria	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$58.71 SYP763K	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+752.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,608.03 SYP21M	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+1075.9%
Average			+901.2%

Syria vs. China - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Syria	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SYP26,004	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-43.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.99 SYP25,927	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+42.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.93 SYP38,086	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+26.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$19.01 SYP247K	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+119.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.22 SYP41,839	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+95.0%
Average			+40.9%

Syria vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.6% less for clothing

	Syria	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.39 SYP538K	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+12.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.79 SYP530K	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-16.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.40 SYP928K	$73.79 CN¥493.72	+3.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.36 SYP1M	$78.93 CN¥528.10	-3.0%
Average			-1.6%

Syria 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: Syria vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in China?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 13.1 times more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Syria is about 51 times smaller than China.

Moving from Syria to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Syria vs.

Turkey

Syria vs.

Lebanon

Syria vs.

Saudi Arabia

Syria vs.

Germany

Syria vs.

Jordan

Syria vs.

Iraq

Syria vs.

Sweden

Syria vs.

Egypt

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Damascus 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 Syria

Add prices for China

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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