This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
Published on June 20, 2020, Mercer's 2020 Cost of Living Survey ranks cities across Africa based on the prices of goods and services such as food, clothing, and rent.
Uganda's capital, Kampala, is the least expensive city to live in East Africa, ranking 30th out of 40 countries sampled in Africa, followed by Rwanda's capital, Kigali, at 29th, Tanzania's commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, at 26th, and Kenya's capital, Nairobi, at 16th.
According to Ilya Bonic, career president and head of Mercer Strategy, the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the importance of managing international assignments and expatriate packages.
Victoria in the Seychelles is the most expensive city to live in Africa, followed by N'Djamena in Chad, Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Libreville in Gabon.
On the other hand, Tunis in Tunisia is the least expensive city to live in on the continent, followed by Windhoek in Namibia, Banjul in Gambia, Lusaka in Zambia, and Gaborone in Botswana.
Numbeo estimates the monthly costs for a four-person family in Kampala at $1,739 without rent, while that for a single person is estimated at $490 without rent.
The cost of living index excluding rent in Kampala is estimated at 32.06 per cent, with local purchasing power index at 15.38 per cent, while in Kigali these figures are estimated at 35.29 per cent and 21.12 per cent respectively.
