Malawi vs Sri Lanka - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Malawi Sri Lanka
🚶 Cost of living one person
$549
$560
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1502
$1425
🏠 One person rent
$209
$208
🏘️ Family rent
$479
$443
🍽️ Food expenses
$225
$283
🚐 Transport expenses
$65.8
$21.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$364
$226
💸 GDP per capita
$602
$3828
😃 Human freedom index
6.85
6.11
❤️ Life expectancy
62.9
76.6
👮 Corruption perceptions index
34
32
🌐 English speaking %
3.9%
18.3%
🎓 Higher education
39
57
😀 Quality of life
22
43
🏙️ Population
18.6M
21.4M

The average cost of living in Malawi ($549) is 2% less expensive than in Sri Lanka ($560). Malawi ranked 173rd vs 171st for Sri Lanka in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Malawi compared to 0.4 months in Sri Lanka. Ranked 163rd and 102nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Malawi vs Sri Lanka infographic

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Prices in Malawi vs Sri Lanka

We calculate prices for Malawi and Sri Lanka as a population-weighted mean of 9 and 10 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Malawi Sri Lanka
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.15
$3.06
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$19.6
$23.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.58
$6.61
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.22
$2.31
 Cappuccino
$2.2
$2.55
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.89
$0.68
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$294
$238
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$101
$147
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$397
$712
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$393
$304
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$29.5
$28.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$45.5
$44
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40.1
$13.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
12.29%
16.1%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10547
$1499
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$513
$1041
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.89
$0.23
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$13
$8.71
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11.5
$3.09
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.29
$1.24
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.89
$1.67
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.89
$0.53
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.23
$0.79
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.92
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.52
$12.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.78
$4.72
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.86
$7.91
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.13
$6.41
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.04
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$5.33
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$1.13
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.15
$1.08
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
$1.16
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.47
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.98
$1.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.7
$13.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.92
$1.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$1.69
$9.77
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.87
$2.04
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.97
$2.42
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.74
$2.25
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.69
$0.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$34.1
$13.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.07
$3.26
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$17
$12.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.35
$3.67
👖 Brand Jeans
$27.5
$28.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$53
$68
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$354
$30.9
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1645
$4123

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Malawi vs Sri Lanka

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Malawi

City Cost of living Population
Blantyre
$507
800K
Mzimba
$566
936K
Lilongwe
$587
989K
Mzuzu
$525
150K
Zomba
$457
101K
Mangochi
$493
53.5K
Mulanje
$461
14.8K
Ntcheu
$492
14.6K
Monkey Bay
$518
14.6K

In Sri Lanka

City Cost of living Population
Colombo
$631
753K
Gampaha
$429
191K
Kandy
$425
120K
Trincomalee
$546
99.1K
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
$627
116K
Beruwala
$580
165K
Negombo
$467
142K
Anuradhapura
$582
63.2K
Galle
$498
93.1K
Matara
$502
68.2K