Cost of living in Ethiopia
Summary of cost of living in Ethiopia
- Family of four estimated monthly costs: 209,803 Birr
- Single person estimated monthly costs: 110,431 Birr WARNING! These estimates are based on only a few data points. At the moment, you should treat them only as a best guess.
Change the currency:
| Food | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | 553 Birr | ||
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) | 594 Birr | ||
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | 391 Birr | ||
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | 110 Birr | ||
| 12 eggs, large | 171 Birr | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | 71 Birr | ||
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | 292 Birr | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | 364 Birr | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | 113 Birr | ||
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | 53 Birr | ||
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | 865 Birr | ||
| 2 liters of coca-cola | 80 Birr | ||
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | 62 Birr | ||
| Housing | |||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area | 94,078 Birr | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area | 58,833 Birr | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | 5,660 Birr | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area | 53,015 Birr | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area | 28,558 Birr | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio | 4,458 Birr | ||
| Internet 8 mbps (1 month) | 1,132 Birr | ||
| 40” flat screen tv | 33,534 Birr | ||
| Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) | 12,406 Birr | ||
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | 260 Birr | ||
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | - | ||
| Clothes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) | 3,091 Birr | ||
| 1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) | 1,748 Birr | ||
| 1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) | 4,965 Birr | ||
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | 4,261 Birr | ||
| Transportation | |||
| Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new | 1,800,000 Birr | ||
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | 77 Birr | ||
| Monthly ticket public transport | 719 Birr | ||
| Personal Care | |||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) | 1,000 Birr | ||
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | 3,000 Birr | ||
| Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) | 1,000 Birr | ||
| 1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) | 60 Birr | ||
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | 466 Birr | ||
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | 622 Birr | ||
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | 126 Birr | ||
| Tube of toothpaste | 147 Birr | ||
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | 230 Birr | ||
| Entertainment | |||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | 2,970 Birr | ||
| 2 tickets to the movies | 282 Birr | ||
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | - | ||
| Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | 2,134 Birr | ||
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | 363 Birr | ||
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | 123 Birr | ||
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | 59 Birr | ||
| Ipad wi-fi 128gb | - | ||
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | - | ||
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | 1,250 Birr | ||
| 1 package of marlboro cigarettes | 2,035 Birr | ||
Moving to Ethiopia with your children?
International Schools in Ethiopia
Map of Cost of Living in Ethiopia
This map shows only the top cities in Ethiopia. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan:
List of all the cities available in Expatistan
The color of each marker corresponds with the cost of living in the city red markers show more expensive cities green ones show cheaper cities
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
List of all cities available in Ethiopia
| Addis Ababa | Arba Minch' | Bahir Dar |
| Debre Birhan | Debre Mark'os | Dire Dawa |
| Gondar | Harar | Inda Silase |
| Jijiga | Jima | Kombolcha |
| Nazret | Shashamane |
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 41% more expensive than in Nairobi
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 44% more expensive than in Denpasar, Bali
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 12% more expensive than in São Paulo
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 73% more expensive than in Feira de Santana
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 11% cheaper than in Harare
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 7% cheaper than in Angers
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 27% cheaper than in Dubai
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 36% more expensive than in Goma
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 21% more expensive than in Beijing
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 16% cheaper than in Greenville, South Carolina
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 101% more expensive than in Lagos
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 173% more expensive than in Coimbatore
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 18% cheaper than in Des Moines, Iowa
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 21% more expensive than in Bangkok
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 29% more expensive than in San Luis Potosí
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 34% more expensive than in Cuernavaca
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 18% more expensive than in Cartagena, Colombia
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 30% cheaper than in Tel Aviv
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 69% more expensive than in Mumbai
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 15% more expensive than in Vilnius
Compare other countries
Prices recently added
- 500 ml beer in neighbourhood pub in Addis Ababa costs 60 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- Cappuccino in expat area of the city in Addis Ababa costs 75 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- Nice dinner at an italian restaurant, dinner for two in Addis Ababa costs 1,200 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- 2 tickets to the movies in Addis Ababa costs 240 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- 400 ml hair shampoo 2-in-1 in Addis Ababa costs 650 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- Short visit to private doctor in Addis Ababa costs 1,000 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- Taxi, initial meter charge, weekday at noon in Addis Ababa costs 90 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- 1 liter of gasoline in Addis Ababa costs 78 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- Sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) in Addis Ababa costs 5,500 Birr (about 11 hours ago)
- Jeans (levis 501 or similar) in Addis Ababa costs 3,500 Birr (about 11 hours ago)