Cost of living comparison

Libya

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Tripoli Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 91.0% more expensive than Tripoli.

Restaurants: pay 64.3% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 86.2% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 7.7 times more in Colombo
Housing: pay 43.1% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 25.1% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 12.2% less in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Tripoli Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Colombo instead of Tripoli, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 64.3% more for restaurants

	Tripoli	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.89 LYD25.030	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	-1.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.65 LYD17.020	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+185.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 LYD2.810	$0.70 LKR232.56	+60.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.11 LYD0.680	$0.26 LKR87.00	+146.8%
Average			+64.3%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 86.2% more for groceries

	Tripoli	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.21 LYD1.350	$0.55 LKR181.98	+162.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.61 LYD16.770	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+164.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.55 LYD22.830	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+69.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.39 LYD8.920	$1.64 LKR541.78	+18.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.59 LYD10.220	$2.21 LKR731.08	+38.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 LYD6.640	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+196.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 LYD4.390	$0.37 LKR122.81	-45.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.32 LYD2.080	$2.03 LKR672.87	+527.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 LYD1.680	$0.57 LKR187.42	+117.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.34 LYD2.160	$0.46 LKR150.85	+35.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 LYD1.390	$0.35 LKR116.82	+62.8%
Average			+86.2%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.7 times more for transportation

	Tripoli	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$0.09 LYD0.570	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	+5712.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$7.19 LKR2,381.42
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,347.42 LYD150K	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+58.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.51 LYD29.030	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-27.0%
Average			+667.7%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.1% more for housing

	Tripoli	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.04 LYD173.930	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-23.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$355.40 LYD2,285.760	$589.61 LKR195K	+65.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$144.24 LYD927.650	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	+87.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$71.42 LYD459.310	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-42.4%
Average			+43.1%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 25.1% less for childcare

	Tripoli	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$52.32 LYD336.470	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-27.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,556.49 LYD10,010.640	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-22.3%
Average			-25.1%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Tripoli	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.62 LYD4.000	$2.21 LKR730.76	+254.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.46 LYD2.960	$2.51 LKR832.69	+446.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.95 LYD12.510	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+428.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.90 LYD160.170	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-43.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$4.53 LKR1,501.55
Average			+127.1%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.2% less for clothing

	Tripoli	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.72 LYD146.160	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	-20.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.38 LYD111.790	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-4.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.21 LYD412.940	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+23.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$66.15 LYD425.450	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	-36.9%
Average			-12.2%

Tripoli vs. Colombo - 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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