List Of The Cheapest Major African Cities In 2023

Given the implications of the cost of living, it is the number one consideration most working-class folks consider when making key personal and financial decisions. The grade of individuals a city draws is determined by how cheap or pricey it is. This is why most people sought out cities that were both affordable and economically active, such as African cities.

Individuals, corporations, and legislators must understand the consequences of the cost of living in order to make informed decisions about financial planning, economic development, and social welfare.

Simply expressed, the cost of living is the amount of money required to afford the items that are necessary to support one’s well-being. At the most basic level, these goods include, among other things, housing, food, utilities, transportation, and healthcare.

However, given the global economic realities of having recently survived a worldwide pandemic and having to deal with conflicts in multiple locations, the cost of living in most places has been in freefall.

The Economist Group’s research and analysis branch, the EIU, has published a report outlining the overall cost of living for major cities across the world.

The report titled Worldwide Cost of Living 2023, conducted between August 14th and September 11th, 2023, found that “on average, prices had risen by 7.4% year on year in local currency terms for over 200 commonly used goods and services. This is slightly below the 8.1% increase reported in last year’s survey, but significantly higher than the trend in 2017 to 2021.”

The EIU’s report for 2023 covered 173 major cities. According to the report, “a slight weakening of the US dollar against some currencies is responsible for some of the movements in this year’s survey. Rankings can also be driven by other factors, such as consumer demand as well as competition and the availability of goods, whether imported or locally produced.”

The EIU research lists ten of the most costly and ten of the cheapest places in the world to live in, and while no African cities appear on the most expensive list, many do appear on the cheapest. The cities are ranked based on an average of the cost of living index in New York, which equals 100.