Cost of Living in Lusaka

This page summarises typical cost of living in Lusaka, Zambia, expressed in ZMW. A single person can expect to budget around 16,000 ZMW per month before rent-driven variation, with an affordability score of 74/100 (higher means more affordable). On that scale Lusaka is moderate relative to other cities in the dataset. These are deterministic planning estimates derived from a country cost baseline adjusted for the city's affordability and size — they are not live market prices, not a ranking, and should be verified against current local sources before relocation or travel decisions.

Currency: ZMW. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16.

Lusaka has an affordability score of 74/100, which places it in the moderate range relative to other indexed cities. Because every city profile uses the same scale, this score is the most reliable cross-city comparison — local-currency totals above are not directly comparable between countries.

In Lusaka a single-person monthly budget is around 16,000 ZMW and a one-bedroom rent around 8,500 ZMW. Use the affordability score (74/100) to compare across countries, since amounts are shown in each city's local currency.

• Cost of living in Gaborone — affordability 72/100
• Cost of living in Nairobi — affordability 80/100
• Cost of living in Johannesburg — affordability 76/100