Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ethiopia and the United Kingdom

Name: United Kingdom
Address: GB

For one person, living is cheaper in Ethiopia: $1,213 a month against $2,462 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Ethiopia
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Ethiopia Living Index
119

Cost of Living Index in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom Living Index

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🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,213

/mo nomad

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ethiopia and in the United Kingdom

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ethiopia and in the United Kingdom actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,213 in Ethiopia versus $2,462 in the United Kingdom.

Ethiopia $1,213
United Kingdom $2,462

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,821 in Ethiopia versus $3,600 in the United Kingdom.

Ethiopia $1,821
United Kingdom $3,600

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,429 in Ethiopia versus $4,738 in the United Kingdom.

Ethiopia $2,429
United Kingdom $4,738

Internal cost variation is higher in the United Kingdom: monthly costs span $1,126 to $4,646, compared to $374–$1,300 in Ethiopia. City choice carries more weight in the United Kingdom.

Living in Ethiopia costs about 51% less than in the United Kingdom on average.

Ethiopia (11% below) and the United Kingdom (81% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.11 ETB 662

$21.48 £16.05

-80.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.65 ETB 6,862

$85.7 £64.1

-50.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.45 ETB 1,038

$10.61 £7.93

-39.21%

Cappuccino

$0.86 ETB 138

$4.91 £3.67

-82.48%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 ETB 92.5

$2.66 £1.99

-78.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ETB 90.6

$1.87 £1.39

-70.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.89 ETB 143

$6.63 £4.95

-86.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 ETB 313

$6.84 £5.11

-71.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 ETB 166

$1.68 £1.26

-38.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 ETB 145

$1.72 £1.28

-47.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ETB 280

$2.17 £1.62

-19.82%

Eggs

$1.79 ETB 288

$4.00 £2.99

-55.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.49 ETB 1,205

$9.42 £7.04

-20.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.49 ETB 1,687

$9.19 £6.86

14.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.97 ETB 1,605

$14.77 £11.03

-32.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.43 ETB 713

$2.97 £2.22

49.16%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 ETB 125

$1.62 £1.21

-51.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 ETB 394

$2.85 £2.13

-14.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.67 ETB 108

$3.52 £2.63

-80.97%

Potato (1kg)

$0.55 ETB 88.3

$1.83 £1.37

-69.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 ETB 216

$1.61 £1.20

-16.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 ETB 124

$1.25 £0.93

-38.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ETB 91.3

$1.66 £1.24

-65.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.86 ETB 1,264

$23.65 £17.67

-66.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.38 ETB 865

$10.50 £7.84

-48.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ETB 122

$2.98 £2.23

-74.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ETB 240

$3.51 £2.62

-57.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ETB 55.7

$3.98 £2.97

-91.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.78 ETB 2,699

$107 £80.3

-84.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 ETB 218

$5.18 £3.87

-73.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ETB 43.19

$2.35 £1.75

-88.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 ETB 316

$26.84 £20.05

-92.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 ETB 161

$1.99 £1.48

-49.75%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$53.5K ETB 8.6M

$39.4K £29.5K

35.61%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$55.1K ETB 8.9M

$40.5K £30.2K

35.98%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$142 ETB 22.9K

$327 £244

-56.54%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$9.63 ETB 1,550

$18.21 £13.60

-47.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$236 ETB 38.0K

$43.60 £32.57

441.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.81 ETB 6,889

$42.36 £31.64

1.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.60 ETB 5,728

$18.22 £13.61

95.39%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 ETB 799

$13.85 £10.34

-64.19%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$628 ETB 101.0K

$1,868 £1,396

-66.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.1K ETB 4.9M

$22.6K £16.9K

33.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.35 ETB 5,849

$92.9 £69.4

-60.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.8 ETB 10.1K

$45.92 £34.30

36.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 ETB 12.6K

$102 £75.9

-22.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ETB 14.3K

$102 £76.4

-13.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$654 ETB 105.2K

$1,342 £1,003

-51.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 ETB 55.7K

$1,073 £802

-67.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,818 ETB 292.5K

$2,231 £1,667

-18.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 ETB 116.3K

$1,742 £1,301

-58.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,825 ETB 293.6K

$5,601 £4,185

-67.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,031 ETB 165.8K

$4,265 £3,186

-75.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$203 ETB 32.7K

$3,349 £2,502

-93.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

219.55%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ethiopia: October 25, 2026

Last update for the United Kingdom: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ethiopia

$388 32%

United Kingdom

$389 15.8% 0.3% $1.3

Accommodation & Living

Ethiopia

$346 28.5%

United Kingdom

$1.1K 43.6% 210% $727

Groceries & Markets

Ethiopia

$210 17.3%

United Kingdom

$307 12.5% 46.3% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Ethiopia

$120 9.9%

United Kingdom

$154 6.3% 28.8% $34

Eating Out

Ethiopia

$75 6.2%

United Kingdom

$328 13.3% 334% $252

Sport & Entertainment

Ethiopia

$53 4.4%

United Kingdom

$70 2.9% 32.8% $17

Getting Around

Ethiopia

$21 1.7%

United Kingdom

$140 5.7% 572% $119

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $421 in Ethiopia, $1,287 in the United Kingdom. Capital cities: $707 in Addis Ababa vs $2,811 in London.

National salary averages: $180 in Ethiopia, $3,251 in the United Kingdom. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 206% higher in the United Kingdom.

Dining out costs 93% more in the United Kingdom.

Public transport is 494% more expensive in the United Kingdom.

Salaries are about 18 times higher in the United Kingdom, and purchasing power comes out stronger in the United Kingdom.

Good to know

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

13:15 1:15 PM

3 h behind Ethiopia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

128,691,692

67,326,569

💱 Currency

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.57 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ETB – Ethiopian Birr Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇹 Ethiopian Birr (Br)

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.57 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to ETB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ethiopia United Kingdom 5,900 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Ethiopia
United Kingdom

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ethiopia vs United Kingdom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,213 per month in Ethiopia and $2,462 in the United Kingdom, Ethiopia comes out about 51% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Ethiopia: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $1,287 in the United Kingdom and $421 in Ethiopia. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Ethiopia, $1,500 covers most cities easily; in the United Kingdom it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: Ethiopia wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.