List of 10 African countries with the highest indices of cost of living, rent and cost of food
- Numbeo’s data breaks down the cost of living into overall expenses, rental costs and grocery prices, providing a comprehensive view of financial burdens
- Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Mauritius top the list of African countries with the highest overall cost of living, according to data from Numbeo
- Kenya, ranked seventh, recently saw major protests against tax proposals that would have further increased the cost of living.
Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has over three years of expertise in financial, business and technology research, providing insights on Kenyan and global trends.
Many African countries are facing criticism from their citizens over the rising cost of living.
Source: Getty Images
Kenya, in particular, has seen weeks of protests against tax proposals that would have increased the cost of living.
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The low cost of living in some African countries indicates that maintaining a certain quality of life requires less expenditure than in other regions, and this financial advantage also stimulates development and prosperity.
Cost of living calculations can be used to compare the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living in different geographic areas based on the cost of living index.
Numbeo collected data from various countries in Africa and ranked the countries from highest to lowest based on cost of living indices.
Numbeo divided these indices based on the highest total cost of living, rental costs, and the highest cost of groceries which were presented as indices.
Countries with the highest cost of living in Africa
| Rank | Country | Cost of living index | Rent index | Grocery Product Index | |
| 1. | Cameroon | 37.3 | 16.9 | 34.6 | |
| 2. | Zimbabwe | 37.2 | 10.0 | 35.5 | |
| 3. | MAURITIUS | 37.1 | 10.0 | 40.7 | |
| 4. | South Africa | 34.5 | 11.5 | 29.7 | |
| 5. | Nigeria | 31.4 | 22.1 | 37.5 | |
| 6. | Ghana | 30.9 | 10.2 | 33.9 | |
| 7. | Kenya | 30.2 | 8.5 | 31.0 | |
| 8. | Botswana | 30.1 | 6.1 | 30.0 | |
| 9. | Morocco | 29.5 | 7.4 | 29.8 | |
| ten. | Uganda | 29.1 | 7.7 | 29.3 | |
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Diesel Prices in Africa
In other articles on Tuko.co.ke, diesel prices vary widely from country to country due to different taxes, levies and subsidies, even though all countries access petroleum products at the same prices from the international market.
Zimbabwe has the highest diesel price in Africa at KSh292,810, followed by Malawi at KSh292,180 and Zambia at KSh254,719.
Kenya ranks 11th in Africa among countries with the highest diesel prices, with a litre costing KSh171,857.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
