Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

China

China vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

China is 4.1% cheaper than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.3% less in China
Groceries: pay 31.2% less in China
Transportation: pay 11.0% less in China
Housing: pay 4.1% more in China
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.6% less in China
Clothing: pay 67.1% more in China

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

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China vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.3% less for restaurants

	Zambia	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-45.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.16 CN¥34.52	+2.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 ZMW12.52	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-19.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ZMW7.20	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-18.4%
Average			-26.3%

Zambia vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.2% less for groceries

	Zambia	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ZMW23.48	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+40.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+30.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.37 ZMW126.88	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW35.36	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-11.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-47.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 ZMW22.03	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-24.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-46.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-59.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-16.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-72.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-51.8%
Average			-31.2%

Zambia vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.0% less for transportation

	Zambia	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 ZMW108.98	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-12.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-58.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	+149.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-70.9%
Average			-11.0%

Zambia vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1% more for housing

	Zambia	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-79.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	+19.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	+28.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-30.2%
Average			+4.1%

Zambia vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Zambia	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+262.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+13.6%
Average			+102.8%

Zambia vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-10.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+0.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+22.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$41.75 CN¥279.37	-23.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+4.0%
Average			-5.6%

Zambia vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 67.1% more for clothing

	Zambia	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+99.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$33.97 CN¥227.29	+119.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$73.79 CN¥493.72	+63.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+8.8%
Average			+67.1%

Zambia vs. China - 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: Zambia vs. China

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Zambia is about 13 times smaller than China.

Moving from Zambia to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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