Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 47.6% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.8% more in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 16.1% less in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 20.7% more in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 25.0% more in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.3% more in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 93.4% more in Saudi Arabia

The cost of housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and transportation in Saudi Arabia are more expensive than in Zambia. Notably, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Arabia vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Zambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.8% more for restaurants

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$6.43 SAR24.15	+16.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$7.60 SAR28.53	+51.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 ZMW12.52	$0.77 SAR2.90	+22.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ZMW7.20	$0.25 SAR0.94	-30.7%
Average			+21.8%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.1% less for groceries

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ZMW23.48	$0.98 SAR3.69	-16.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$3.80 SAR14.25	-26.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.37 ZMW126.88	$6.70 SAR25.16	+5.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW35.36	$2.67 SAR10.01	+50.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$3.42 SAR12.84	+19.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 ZMW22.03	$0.98 SAR3.66	-11.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.78 SAR2.93	-29.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.80 SAR2.99	-51.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.75 SAR2.81	+7.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.62 SAR2.32	-47.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.60 SAR2.27	-27.0%
Average			-16.1%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.7% more for transportation

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 ZMW108.98	$2.35 SAR8.83	-57.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$35.96 SAR134.94	-28.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$44,549.24 SAR167K	+490.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$20.52 SAR77.00	+40.7%
Average			+20.7%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$68.86 SAR258.41	+25.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	$633.54 SAR2,377.57	+125.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	$465.22 SAR1,745.88	+181.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$73.68 SAR276.52	+19.8%
Average			+117.9%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

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pay 25.0% more for childcare

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$419.94 SAR1,575.96	+203.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$8,565.65 SAR32,145.50	-48.5%
Average			+25.0%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

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pay 79.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.91 SAR7.18	+52.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$3.43 SAR12.86	+21.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$6.94 SAR26.04	+130.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$98.19 SAR368.47	+79.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$15.24 SAR57.19	+152.6%
Average			+79.3%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 93.4% more for clothing

	Zambia	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$44.17 SAR165.75	+89.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$55.80 SAR209.42	+261.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$89.45 SAR335.69	+98.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$74.85 SAR280.89	+3.2%
Average			+93.4%

Zambia vs. Saudi Arabia - 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. Saudi Arabia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Saudi Arabia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Make 26.2 times more money in Saudi Arabia

Size Comparison · See true size

Zambia is about 2.9 times smaller than Saudi Arabia.

Moving from Zambia to Saudi Arabia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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