Cost of living comparison

Cameroon

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Yaounde Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 68.8% more expensive than Yaounde.

Restaurants: pay 0.1% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 20.8% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 1.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 5.2 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.0% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Yaounde Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Yaounde, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.1% more for restaurants

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.41 FCFA1,993	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+31.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.12 FCFA2,990	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+1.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 FCFA872	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-59.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 FCFA311	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-30.7%
Average			+0.1%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.8% less for groceries

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.06 FCFA618	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+86.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.83 FCFA3,986	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+25.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.65 FCFA7,970	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-49.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.05 FCFA1,196	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-17.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 FCFA1,582	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-45.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.32 FCFA1,356	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-57.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.90 FCFA527	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-14.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 FCFA542	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-2.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 FCFA367	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+22.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 FCFA422	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-50.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 FCFA379	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-33.2%
Average			-20.8%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.2% less for transportation

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 FCFA3,169	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-8.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.07 FCFA9,966	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+74.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,433.47 FCFA19M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-40.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.01 FCFA2,342	$5.67 CN¥37.92	+41.3%
Average			-1.2%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.21 FCFA29,898	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-79.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$141.34 FCFA82,519	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+633.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$183.59 FCFA107K	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+220.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.74 FCFA35,459	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-27.5%
Average			+211.5%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 5.2 times more for childcare

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$615.85 FCFA360K	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+129.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,347.16 FCFA1M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+1079.6%
Average			+420.3%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.24 FCFA723	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-3.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.92 FCFA1,121	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+74.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.71 FCFA997	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+118.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.47 FCFA13,703	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+179.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.54 FCFA4,983	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+4.9%
Average			+57.0%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Yaounde	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.07 FCFA9,966	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+218.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.31 FCFA15,946	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+35.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$25.61 FCFA14,949	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+194.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$55.19 FCFA32,224	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+91.5%
Average			+122.3%

Yaounde vs. Shanghai - 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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