Cost of living in Ethiopia
Summary of cost of living in Ethiopia
- Family of four estimated monthly costs: 80,616 Birr
- Single person estimated monthly costs: 40,192 Birr WARNING! These estimates are currently based on just a small amount of data. They provide a decent starting assumption, but they are not yet completely reliable.
Food | |||
---|---|---|---|
Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | 190 Birr | ||
Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) | 225 Birr | ||
500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | 280 Birr | ||
1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | 32 Birr | ||
12 eggs, large | 62 Birr | ||
1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | 22 Birr | ||
500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | 139 Birr | ||
1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | 121 Birr | ||
1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | 18 Birr | ||
0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | 26 Birr | ||
1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | 254 Birr | ||
2 liters of coca-cola | 40 Birr | ||
Bread for 2 people for 1 day | 15 Birr | ||
Housing | |||
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area | 33,730 Birr | ||
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area | 18,733 Birr | ||
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | 2,506 Birr | ||
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area | 22,988 Birr | ||
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area | 13,698 Birr | ||
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio | 1,905 Birr | ||
Internet 8 mbps (1 month) | 940 Birr | ||
40” flat screen tv | 13,615 Birr | ||
Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) | 6,519 Birr | ||
Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | 278 Birr | ||
Hourly rate for cleaning help | 100 Birr | ||
Clothes | |||
1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) | 822 Birr | ||
1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) | 1,594 Birr | ||
1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) | 2,327 Birr | ||
1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | 2,010 Birr | ||
Transportation | |||
Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new | 1,069,200 Birr | ||
1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | 19 Birr | ||
Monthly ticket public transport | 475 Birr | ||
Personal Care | |||
Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) | 66 Birr | ||
1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | 118 Birr | ||
Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) | 611 Birr | ||
1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) | 86 Birr | ||
Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | 136 Birr | ||
Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | 138 Birr | ||
4 rolls of toilet paper | 63 Birr | ||
Tube of toothpaste | 64 Birr | ||
Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | 144 Birr | ||
Entertainment | |||
Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | 642 Birr | ||
2 tickets to the movies | 137 Birr | ||
2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | 1,000 Birr | ||
Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | 925 Birr | ||
1 cocktail drink in downtown club | 182 Birr | ||
Cappuccino in expat area of the city | 43 Birr | ||
1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | 41 Birr | ||
Ipad wi-fi 128gb | 23,066 Birr | ||
1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | 5.00 Birr | ||
1 month of gym membership in business district | 1,276 Birr | ||
1 package of marlboro cigarettes | 105 Birr |
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 25% cheaper than in Nairobi
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 18% more expensive than in Agra
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 58% cheaper than in Asmara
- Cost of living in Gondar is 32% cheaper than in St. John's, NL
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 44% cheaper than in Dakar
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 65% cheaper than in Washington D.C.
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 64% cheaper than in Seattle, Washington
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 26% cheaper than in Warsaw
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 66% cheaper than in Auckland
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 49% cheaper than in Houston, Texas
- Cost of living in Harar is 30% cheaper than in Roanoke, Virginia
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 35% cheaper than in Bangkok
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 38% cheaper than in Alicante
- Cost of living in Bahir Dar is 45% cheaper than in Copenhagen
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 5% more expensive than in Shashamane
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 45% cheaper than in Lisbon
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 10% cheaper than in Cluj-Napoca
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 58% cheaper than in Brighton and Hove
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 70% cheaper than in London
- Cost of living in Addis Ababa is 70% cheaper than in New York City
Compare other countries
Prices recently added
- 2 liters of coca-cola in Addis Ababa costs 50 Birr (about 5 hours ago)