Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zambia and Italy

Name: Italy
Address: IT

For one person, living is cheaper in Zambia: $888 a month against $1,832 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Zambia
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Zambia Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index

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🇿🇲 Zambia

$888

/mo nomad

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zambia and in Italy

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $888 in Zambia versus $1,832 in Italy.

Zambia $888
Italy $1,832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,577 in Zambia versus $2,809 in Italy.

Zambia $1,577
Italy $2,809

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,267 in Zambia versus $3,787 in Italy.

Zambia $2,267
Italy $3,787

Internal cost variation is higher in Italy: monthly costs span $1,163 to $2,537, compared to $129–$860 in Zambia. City choice carries more weight in Italy.

Living in Zambia costs about 52% less than in Italy on average.

Zambia (34% below) and Italy (35% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 ZMW 134

$20.47 €18.18

-67.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.20 ZMW 592

$78.9 €70.1

-62.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.92 ZMW 99.6

$11.23 €9.98

-56.19%

Cappuccino

$3.25 ZMW 65.8

$2.04 €1.81

59.31%

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

$0.77 ZMW 15.56

$3.09 €2.74

-75.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 ZMW 9.76

$1.34 €1.19

-64.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.27 ZMW 25.68

$5.71 €5.07

-77.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 ZMW 50.3

$5.43 €4.82

-54.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 ZMW 36.38

$1.57 €1.39

14.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 ZMW 24.05

$2.39 €2.13

-50.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 ZMW 47.61

$2.85 €2.53

-17.54%

Eggs

$1.78 ZMW 36.11

$4.19 €3.72

-57.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.04 ZMW 203

$17.06 €15.16

-41.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.29 ZMW 127

$12.49 €11.09

-49.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.11 ZMW 124

$20.30 €18.04

-69.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 ZMW 68.4

$2.61 €2.32

29.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 ZMW 43.33

$2.18 €1.94

-1.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.31 ZMW 67.1

$2.59 €2.30

27.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ZMW 30.76

$3.31 €2.94

-54.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 ZMW 53.3

$2.01 €1.79

30.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 ZMW 38.95

$1.82 €1.61

5.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 ZMW 23.74

$1.57 €1.40

-25.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ZMW 15.03

$0.52 €0.46

42.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.98 ZMW 60.3

$6.74 €5.99

-55.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 ZMW 203

$7.91 €7.02

26.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 ZMW 26.24

$1.76 €1.56

-26.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ZMW 40.86

$2.36 €2.09

-14.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 ZMW 19.43

$1.95 €1.74

-50.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.0 ZMW 1,115

$42.83 €38.04

28.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 ZMW 50.3

$5.53 €4.91

-55.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 ZMW 32.23

$1.71 €1.52

-7.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.85 ZMW 179

$33.80 €30.02

-73.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ZMW 27.38

$2.08 €1.85

-35.10%

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

$6,270 ZMW 127.0K

$36.0K €32.0K

-82.57%

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

$41.6K ZMW 842.5K

$37.2K €33.0K

11.85%

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

$77.5 ZMW 1,571

$231 €206

-66.49%

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

$11.24 ZMW 228

$11.80 €10.48

-4.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.7 ZMW 1,169

$29.94 €26.59

92.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.69 ZMW 986

$53.0 €47.11

-8.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.83 ZMW 321

$23.61 €20.97

-32.95%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 ZMW 134

$10.75 €9.55

-38.33%

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

$147 ZMW 2,969

$566 €503

-74.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K ZMW 404.3K

$17.6K €15.6K

13.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.13 ZMW 509

$90.8 €80.7

-72.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.67 ZMW 277

$38.57 €34.27

-64.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.6 ZMW 1,167

$103 €91.7

-44.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.5 ZMW 1,571

$130 €115

-40.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$456 ZMW 9,249

$829 €737

-44.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$176 ZMW 3,561

$630 €560

-72.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 ZMW 21.5K

$1,377 €1,223

-22.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 ZMW 14.7K

$1,050 €933

-31.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,803 ZMW 77.1K

$3,650 €3,242

4.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,966 ZMW 80.3K

$2,306 €2,049

71.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$461 ZMW 9,342

$1,951 €1,733

-76.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.25

3.55

639.44%

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

Last update for Zambia: October 31, 2026

Last update for Italy: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zambia

$233 26.2%

Italy

$347 18.9% 49.1% $114

Accommodation & Living

Zambia

$176 19.8%

Italy

$630 34.4% 259% $455

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zambia

$146 16.5%

Italy

$273 14.9% 86.5% $127

Eating Out

Zambia

$123 13.9%

Italy

$279 15.2% 127% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Zambia

$78 8.8%

Italy

$163 8.9% 108% $85

Getting Around

Zambia

$69 7.8%

Italy

$65 3.5% 6.7% $4.6

Sport & Entertainment

Zambia

$62 7%

Italy

$75 4.1% 20.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $590 in Zambia, $728 in Italy. Capital cities: $388 in Lusaka vs $1,348 in Rome.

National salary averages: $358 in Zambia, $1,908 in Italy. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 23% higher in Italy.

Dining out costs 152% more in Italy.

Public transport is 40% more expensive in Zambia.

Salaries are about 5.3 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Zambia

🇮🇹 Italy

🕒 Local time

22:01 10:01 PM

21:01 9:01 PM

1 h behind Zambia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,610,769

58,850,717

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 4.94 USD

100 ZMW = 4.38 EUR

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 20.26 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.94 USD). 1 EUR = 22.81 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.38 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zambia Italy 6,580 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Zambia
Italy

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

Zambia vs Italy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,832 per month in Italy and $888 in Zambia, Zambia comes out about 52% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $728 in Italy and $590 in Zambia. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

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