The most expensive countries in Africa are: Angola; Nigeria; Democratic Republic of Congo; Central African Republic, and Mozambique
The most expensive cities to live in are: Luanda (Fourth most expensive in the world); Abuja; Lagos; Kinshasa; and Kano
The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Tunis in Tunisia (774 most expensive in the world)

The biggest mover down the rankings is Maseru in Lesotho, one of the poorest countries in the world, which has dropped to become the 658th most expensive location in the world.
The biggest mover up the rankings is Cameroon. Douala has risen to be the 187th most expensive location in the world while Yaounde has risen to be ranked 364th in the world.

Xpatulator’s Cost of Living rankings are released every quarter and measure the comparative cost of living for expatriate professionals in 780 cities, covering every country worldwide.  The cost of 13 basket groups with over 140 items are compared in each location, these include alcohol and tobacco, clothing, communication, education, furniture and appliances, groceries, healthcare, housing, personal care, recreation and culture, restaurants-meals-out and hotels, and transport.

To provide an assignee, sent from a low cost of living country to a more expensive country, with a similar purchasing power to what they have in their home country, requires an adjustment to their assignment salary.  The amount of adjustment depends on which country they come from. The larger the difference in cost of living, the larger the adjustment required to ensure a similar level of purchasing power in the host country.

The below ranking shows the overall Cost of Living Rankings in Africa by city:

1. Angola, Luanda
2. Nigeria, Abuja
3. Nigeria, Lagos
4. Congo Democratic Rep, Kinshasa
5. Nigeria, Kano
6. Nigeria, Ibadan
7. Central African Republic, Bangui
8. Mozambique, Maputo
9. Guinea-Bissau, Bissau
10. Gabon, Libreville
11. Guinea, Conakry
12. Sierra Leone, Freetown
13. Chad, N’Djamena
14. Ghana, Accra
15. Eritrea, Asmara
16. Saint Helena, Jamestown
17. Cameroon, Douala
18. Equatorial Guinea, Malabo
19. Zambia, Lusaka
20. Senegal, Dakar
21. Benin, Cotonou
22. Congo, Brazzaville
23. Tanzania, Zanzibar
24. Togo, Lome
25. Liberia, Monrovia
26. Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou
27. Niger, Niamey
28. Djibouti, Djibouti
29. Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
30. Comoros, Moroni
31. Cape Verde, Praia
32. Sudan, Khartoum
33. Libya, Tripoli
34. Zimbabwe, Harare
35. Cameroon, Yaounde
36. Somalia, Mogadishu
37. South Africa, Johannesburg
38. Malawi, Lilongwe
39. Mali, Bamako
40. South Africa, Pretoria
41. South Africa, Bloemfontein
42. Libya, Benghazi
43. Burundi, Bujumbura
44. South Africa, Cape Town
45. Kenya, Nairobi
46. Egypt, Gizeh
47. Uganda, Kampala
48. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
49. South Africa, Durban
50. Namibia, Windhoek
51. Seychelles, Victoria
52. Gambia, Banjul
53. Cote D’Ivoire, Abidjan
54. Morocco, Fez
55. Botswana, Gaborone
56. Mauritius, Port Louis
57. South Africa, Port Elizabeth
58. Swaziland, Mbabane
59. Madagascar, Antananarivo
60. Lesotho, Maseru
61. Morocco, Rabat
62. Rwanda, Kigali
63. Egypt, Cairo
64. Egypt, Alexandria
65. Morocco, Marrakech
66. Kenya, Mombasa
67. Morocco, Casablanca
68. Mauritania, Nouakchott
69. Algeria, Algiers
70. Tunisia, Tunis

The below ranking shows the Cost of Living Rankings in Africa by city excluding housing, education, healthcare and transport basket groups:

1. Angola, Luanda
2. Eritrea, Asmara
3. Nigeria, Lagos
4. Nigeria, Abuja
5. Central African Republic, Bangui
6. Congo Democratic Rep, Kinshasa
7. Congo, Brazzaville
8. Guinea-Bissau, Bissau
9. Nigeria, Kano
10. Chad, N’Djamena
11. Nigeria, Ibadan
12. Cameroon, Douala
13. Sierra Leone, Freetown
14. Senegal, Dakar
15. Gabon, Libreville
16. Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou
17. Togo, Lome
18. Liberia, Monrovia
19. Burundi, Bujumbura
20. Niger, Niamey
21. Guinea, Conakry
22. Benin, Cotonou
23. Cameroon, Yaounde
24. Comoros, Moroni
25. Mali, Bamako
26. Equatorial Guinea, Malabo
27. Saint Helena, Jamestown
28. Sudan, Khartoum
29. Somalia, Mogadishu
30. Djibouti, Djibouti
31. Tanzania, Zanzibar
32. Mozambique, Maputo
33. Cape Verde, Praia
34. Cote D’Ivoire, Abidjan
35. Rwanda, Kigali
36. Zambia, Lusaka
37. Zimbabwe, Harare
38. Namibia, Windhoek
39. Libya, Benghazi
40. Ghana, Accra
41. Egypt, Gizeh
42. Seychelles, Victoria
43. Malawi, Lilongwe
44. Libya, Tripoli
45. Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
46. Madagascar, Antananarivo
47. South Africa, Pretoria
48. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
49. Kenya, Nairobi
50. Mauritania, Nouakchott
51. Botswana, Gaborone
52. South Africa, Johannesburg
53. Morocco, Marrakech
54. Egypt, Alexandria
55. Egypt, Cairo
56. South Africa, Cape Town
57. Lesotho, Maseru
58. Kenya, Mombasa
59. Gambia, Banjul
60. South Africa, Durban
61. Morocco, Rabat
62. Mauritius, Port Louis
63. Uganda, Kampala
64. Morocco, Fez
65. South Africa, Bloemfontein
66. Swaziland, Mbabane
67. South Africa, Port Elizabeth
68. Algeria, Algiers
69. Morocco, Casablanca
70. Tunisia, Tunis

Reference
The cost of living ranking information contained in this article is updated quarterly using data collected by Xpatulator.com over the past 12 months. The international cost of living indexes, on which the rankings are based, is only available using Xpatulator.com’s online expatriate calculators that enable users to create personalized cost of living comparison reports which include:

Salary Purchasing Power Parity Calculator
Cost of Living Allowance Calculator
Cost of Living Index Calculator

Published by Xpatulator.com on 1 April 2013.

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