"The cost of living is the amount of money needed to cover basic expenses such as housing, food, taxes, and healthcare in a certain place and time period. The cost of living is often used to compare how expensive it is to live in one city versus another. The cost of living is tied to wages. If expenses are higher in a city, such as New York, for example, salary levels must be higher so that people can afford to live in that city," explains Investopedia.
Using data obtained from Statista, Business Insider Africa hereby presents a list of 15 African cities with the highest cost of living index scores.
Eight cities from two African countries dominated the list. In specific terms, there are four South African cities and four Moroccan cities on the list.
Surprisingly, Nigeria's mega city and commercial nerve centre, Lagos, did not make the list. Also, there are only two West African cities on the list.
15 African cities with the highest cost of living index
- Addis Ababa: The Ethiopian capital city has the highest cost of living index score in Africa at 58.92. Apparently, the prices of consumer goods are quite high in this Horn of Africa city, compared to other cities across the continent.
- Abidjan: The Ivorian capital city has a cost of living index score of 55.73, making it the second highest in Africa.
- Harare: This Zimbabwean city has a cost of living index score of 52.33 as of 2021.
- Johannesburg: This is the first South African city on the list. Joburg, as it is fondly called by its residents, has a cost of living index score of 46.
- Pretoria: This city, which serves as the seat of South Africa's executive branch of government, is equally quite costly to live in. The cost of living index score here is 44.7.
- Gaborone: The capital city of Botswana has a cost of living index of 42.84.
- Cape Town: This is the third South African city on the list and it has a cost of living index of 42.24.
- Accra: This is the second West African city that made it to the list, besides Abidjan. The Ghanaian capital city has a score of 42.18.
- Marrakesh: This is one of Africa's most famous cities, attracting tourists in the thousands. It is also a major economic hub in Morocco. Therefore, it is not surprising to see it on this list, with a cost of living index score of 41.73.
- Windhoek: Namibia's capital and largest city has a cost of living index score of 41.08.
- Tangier: This is the second Moroccan city on the list and it has an index score of 40.18.
- Durban: This is the last one of the four South African cities on this list. Durban has a cost of living index score of 39.86.
- Casablanca: This is the second largest city in Morocco and it has a cost of living index score of 39.81,
- Nairobi: Kenya's capital city has a cost of living index score of 38.51.
- Rabat: Finally, Morocco's capital city has a cost of living index score of 37.95.
