Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

Zambia

Zambia vs. Vietnam Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 13.4% more expensive than Vietnam overall.

Restaurants: pay 80.4% more in Zambia
Groceries: pay 45.2% more in Zambia
Transportation: pay 39.1% more in Zambia
Housing: pay 16.9% less in Zambia
Childcare: pay 30.0% less in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 93.7% more in Zambia
Clothing: pay 32.4% less in Zambia

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

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Zambia vs. Vietnam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zambia instead of Vietnam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 80.4% more for restaurants

	Vietnam	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.93 ₫49,968	$5.53 ZMW110.20	+186.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.06 ₫105K	$5.03 ZMW100.18	+23.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₫13,022	$0.63 ZMW12.52	+25.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 ₫7,715	$0.36 ZMW7.20	+21.3%
Average			+80.4%

Vietnam vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.2% more for groceries

	Vietnam	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.96 ₫24,827	$1.18 ZMW23.48	+22.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.37 ₫139K	$5.15 ZMW102.63	-4.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.69 ₫147K	$6.37 ZMW126.88	+11.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.51 ₫39,111	$1.77 ZMW35.36	+17.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.71 ₫44,332	$2.87 ZMW57.22	+67.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 ₫34,270	$1.11 ZMW22.03	-16.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 ₫13,159	$1.10 ZMW21.94	+116.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 ₫15,883	$1.65 ZMW32.94	+169.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ₫14,322	$0.70 ZMW13.88	+26.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫12,823	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+135.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 ₫13,288	$0.83 ZMW16.51	+61.5%
Average			+45.2%

Vietnam vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.1% more for transportation

	Vietnam	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.36 ₫87,093	$5.47 ZMW108.98	+62.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.12 ₫184K	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+604.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-75.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.75 ₫149K	$14.58 ZMW290.52	+153.7%
Average			+39.1%

Vietnam vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.9% less for housing

	Vietnam	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.92 ₫231K	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	+516.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$387.95 ₫10M	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	-27.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$257.72 ₫7M	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	-35.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.62 ₫1M	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	+24.0%
Average			-16.9%

Vietnam vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

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pay 30.0% less for childcare

	Vietnam	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$321.30 ₫8M	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	-57.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,628.65 ₫379M	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+13.7%
Average			-30.0%

Vietnam vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

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pay 93.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Vietnam	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.91 ₫23,577	$1.26 ZMW25.05	+38.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.63 ₫42,237	$2.82 ZMW56.21	+72.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.36 ₫35,110	$3.02 ZMW60.11	+122.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$20.59 ₫533K	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	+165.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.14 ₫81,316	$6.03 ZMW120.22	+92.1%
Average			+93.7%

Vietnam vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.4% less for clothing

	Vietnam	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.00 ₫1M	$23.28 ZMW463.85	-43.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.08 ₫623K	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-35.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.97 ₫2M	$45.19 ZMW900.42	-41.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$74.18 ₫2M	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	-2.2%
Average			-32.4%

Vietnam 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: Vietnam vs. Zambia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Zambia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 14.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Zambia

Size Comparison · See true size

Vietnam is about 2.3 times smaller than Zambia.

Moving from Vietnam to Zambia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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