Cost of living comparison

compared to

Uganda vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

Uganda is 3.3% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 23.0% more in Uganda
Groceries: pay 4.7% more in Uganda
Transportation: pay 0.9% less in Uganda
Housing: pay 29.1% more in Uganda
Childcare: pay 34.9% less in Uganda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.0% more in Uganda
Clothing: pay 24.2% less in Uganda

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

Uganda vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.0% more for restaurants

	Zambia	Uganda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.35 ZMW141.40	$2.86 UGX10,500	-61.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.72 ZMW71.49	$8.80 UGX32,302	+136.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ZMW9.43	$0.49 UGX1,794	-0.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 ZMW4.99	$0.30 UGX1,112	+16.7%
Average			+23.0%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.7% more for groceries

	Zambia	Uganda
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 ZMW14.76	$1.17 UGX4,277	+51.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 ZMW72.35	$2.18 UGX8,016	-42.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.89 ZMW94.06	$2.80 UGX10,282	-42.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.53 ZMW29.49	$1.82 UGX6,686	+18.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.78 ZMW34.31	$2.24 UGX8,209	+25.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 ZMW17.24	$1.29 UGX4,753	+44.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZMW14.01	$0.65 UGX2,381	-10.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW23.52	$0.77 UGX2,826	-37.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZMW9.61	$0.73 UGX2,674	+45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 ZMW17.04	$0.73 UGX2,667	-18.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW12.87	$0.78 UGX2,858	+16.3%
Average			+4.7%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.9% less for transportation

	Zambia	Uganda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZMW88.01	$5.73 UGX21,033	+25.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.52 ZMW740.77	$42.91 UGX158K	+11.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW154K	$10,011.73 UGX37M	+25.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.53 ZMW221.80	$4.00 UGX14,700	-65.3%
Average			-0.9%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.1% more for housing

	Zambia	Uganda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$118.37 ZMW2,276.46	$46.09 UGX169K	-61.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$176.52 ZMW3,394.83	$411.55 UGX2M	+133.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$115.74 ZMW2,225.80	$206.19 UGX757K	+78.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.70 ZMW1,013.59	$35.00 UGX128K	-33.6%
Average			+29.1%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of housing

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pay 34.9% less for childcare

	Zambia	Uganda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW3,399.98	$173.88 UGX638K	-1.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,677.88 ZMW225K	$3,718.64 UGX14M	-68.2%
Average			-34.9%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	Uganda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.98 ZMW18.78	$1.43 UGX5,250	+46.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZMW39.37	$2.86 UGX10,500	+39.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.67 ZMW70.67	$3.65 UGX13,388	-0.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.47 ZMW970.60	$45.77 UGX168K	-9.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.18 ZMW80.48	$6.44 UGX23,625	+53.8%
Average			+26.0%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.2% less for clothing

	Zambia	Uganda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.93 ZMW364.01	$16.81 UGX61,688	-11.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.99 ZMW326.75	$15.94 UGX58,500	-6.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.33 ZMW1,621.79	$43.26 UGX159K	-48.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.12 ZMW1,406.30	$50.77 UGX186K	-30.6%
Average			-24.2%

Zambia vs. Uganda - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2026

Compare further: Zambia vs. Uganda

Quality of Life Comparison · 14 statistics

Be 66.2% less likely to live below the poverty line in Uganda

Size Comparison · See true size

Zambia is about 3.1 times bigger than Uganda.

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