Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, ranked as the most expensive city to live in Africa as of 2024, considering consumer goods prices. The Ethiopian capital obtained an index score of ****, followed by Harare, in Zimbabwe, with ****. Morocco and South Africa were the countries with the most representatives among the ** cities with the highest cost of living in Africa.

Zimbabwe had the most expensive mobile internet in Africa as of 2023. One gigabyte cost on average ***** U.S. dollars in the African country, the highest worldwide. Overall, the cost of mobile data varied significantly across the continent. South Sudan and the Central African Republic also recorded elevated prices for mobile data, positioning among the ** countries with the highest prices for data globally. By contrast, one gigabyte cost **** U.S. dollars in Malawi, the lowest average price registered in Africa. Determinants for high pricing On average, one gigabyte of mobile internet in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to **** U.S. dollars in 2023, one of the highest worldwide, according to the source. In Northern Africa, the price for mobile data was far lower, **** U.S. dollars on average. Few factors influence the elevated prices of mobile data in Africa, such as high taxation and the lack of infrastructure. In 2021, around **** percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived within a range of ** kilometers from fiber networks. Mobile connectivity Over *** million people are estimated to be connected to the mobile internet in Africa as of 2022. The coverage gap has decreased in the continent but remained the highest worldwide in 2022. That year, ** percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived in areas not covered by a mobile broadband network. Additionally, the adoption of mobile internet is not equitable, as it is more accessible to men than women as well as more spread in urban than rural areas.

One gigabyte of mobile internet in South Africa cost, on average, **** U.S. dollars in 2023. The country ranked *** in *** countries worldwide, from the cheapest to the most expensive for mobile data. Out of 46 plans measured in South Africa, the lowest price observed was *** U.S. dollars per *** for a ** days plan.

As of 2023, the highest average cost of fixed-line broadband in Africa was registered in Eritrea, at approximately ***** U.S. dollars per megabyte. This was roughly double the monthly price in Burundi, the African country with the second most expensive cost per megabyte (***** U.S. dollars). On the other hand, in Egypt and Réunion fixed-line broadband cost less than *** U.S. dollar for one megabyte. Overall, the ten countries with the highest fixed broadband prices were in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The average for 2021 based on 50 countries was 107.42 index points. The highest value was in Democratic Republic of the Congo: 155.7 index points and the lowest value was in Sudan: 64.38 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Low crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa are associated with low fertilizer use. To better understand patterns of, and opportunities for, fertilizer use, location specific fertilizer price data may be relevant. We compiled local market price data for urea fertilizer, a source of inorganic nitrogen, in 1729 locations in eighteen countries in two regions (West and East Africa) from 2010–2018 to understand patterns in the spatial variation in fertilizer prices. The average national price was lowest in Ghana (0.80 USD kg-1), Kenya (0.97 USD kg-1), and Nigeria (0.99 USD kg-1). Urea was most expensive in three landlocked countries (Burundi: 1.51, Uganda: 1.49, and Burkina Faso: 1.49 USD kg-1). Our study uncovers considerable spatial variation in fertilizer prices within African countries. We show that in many countries this variation can be predicted for unsampled locations by fitting models of prices as a function of longitude, latitude, and additional predictor variables that capture aspects of market access, demand and environmental conditions. Predicted within-country urea price variation (as a fraction of the median price) was particularly high in Kenya (0.77–1.12), Nigeria (0.83–1.34), Senegal (0.73–1.40), Tanzania (0.90–1.29) and Uganda (0.93–1.30), but much lower in Burkina Faso (0.96–1.04), Burundi (0.95–1.05), and Togo (0.94–1.05). The correlation coefficient of the country level models was between 0.17 to 0.83 (mean 0.52) and the RMSE varies from 0.005 to 0.188 (mean 0.095). In 10 countries, predictions were at least 25% better than a null-model that assumes no spatial variation. Our work indicates new opportunities for incorporating spatial variation in prices into efforts to understand the profitability of agricultural technologies across rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This dataset provides values for MILITARY EXPENDITURE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Consumers in Central African Republic paid the highest price for gasoline in Africa as of April 2025. One liter of the fuel cost on average 1.9 U.S. dollars in the country. In Senegal, the retail price for gasoline octane-95 reached on average 1.71 U.S. dollars per liter, the second-highest on the continent. On the other hand, consumers living in traditional crude oil producers in Africa, such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Libya, and Egypt spent less money on gasoline. For instance, one liter cost 0.03 U.S. dollar in Libya, among the cheapest in the world.

Cabo Verde recorded the highest electricity price for households in Africa. As of June 2024, one kilowatt-hour costs around **** U.S. dollars in the country. Kenya and Sierra Leone followed, with households paying **** and **** U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, respectively. Mail, Burkina Faso, and Gabon also recorded relatively higher prices for electricity on the continent. On the other hand, Egypt, Zambia, Angola, and Libya registered the lowest prices for electric energy in Africa. Countries usually retain high prices for household and business electricity In Africa, countries with high electricity prices for households also tend to have higher prices for businesses. For instance, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, and Kenya’s energy prices for companies placed them among the most expensive four countries on the continent. As of late 2023, the electricity prices stood at around ***, ***, and **** U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, respectively. Electricity access and reliability vary across the continent A significant share of Africans still live with no access to electricity. Although almost all of North Africa's population had access to electricity, the other regions had lower electricity access in 2021. Western, Southern, and Eastern Africa had just over ** percent of their citizens living in electrified areas, while in Central Africa it stood at around ** percent. Nevertheless, according to a survey, two Eastern African countries ranked highest with the most reliable electricity supply on the continent. Between 2021 and 2023, some ** percent of Mauritians and ** percent of Seychellois reported having a supply that worked most or all the time.

Damascus in Syria was ranked as the least expensive city worldwide in 2023, with an index score of ** out of 100. The country has been marred by civil war over the last decade, hitting the country's economy hard. Other cities in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Tehran, Tripoli, and Tunis, are also present on the list. On the other hand, Singapore and Zurich were ranked the most expensive cities in the world.

The ranking of internet costs in various countries shows significant differences, driven by economic, political, and infrastructure factors.

Sending remittances to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa was ****** ***** times more expensive than countries like Ethiopia or South Africa, as of the third quarter of 2023. This is according to an average taken from different situations in which consumers send money worth 200 U.S. dollars from one country to the next - including cash, MTOs (money transfer organizations) or cards.

Businesses in Côte d'Ivoire paid the highest price for electricity in Africa, around **** U.S. dollars for one kilowatt-hour as of September 2023. The amount was slightly higher of that registered in Cabo Verde and Burkina Faso, the second and third most expensive countries for business electricity on the continent. On the other hand, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Angola, and Libya recorded the lowest electricity prices for businesses in Africa in the same period.

In 2023, a loaf of fresh white bread of *** grams cost **** U.S. dollars in Accra, Ghana. This was the highest price among the selected African cities. In Kampala, Uganda, the price of a loaf of bread averaged **** U.S. dollars, while it amounted to **** U.S. dollars in Lagos, Nigeria. The African countries where bread was most expensive were Uganda, South Africa, and Mauritius.

The most expensive countries in the world to send remittances to largely consisted of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as of the fourth quarter of 2023. This is according to an average taken from different situations in which consumers send money worth *** U.S. dollars from one country to the next - including cash, MTOs (money transfer organizations) or cards. The source adds that incoming remittances were estimated at **** percent on average for the G20 countries during this timeframe.

In 2023, the average cost of one gigabyte of mobile internet in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to **** U.S. dollars, one of the highest worldwide, according to the source. In Northern Africa, the price for mobile data was far lower, **** U.S. dollars on average. Overall, the cost of mobile data varied greatly across Africa. Zimbabwe had the most expensive mobile internet on the continent, while Malawi recorded the cheapest average price.

The average retail electricity prices in Africa vary widely across the continent from *** U.S. dollars per megawatt hour in Liberia to **** U.S. dollars per megawatt hour in Ethiopia.

Electricity reliability

Many African countries are trying to expand electricity output, however, those with access to the electricity grid are experiencing more blackouts and brownouts due to shortages in capacity as well as failures along the infrastructure systems. In turn, more consumers and businesses are turning to back-up generators as reliability remains uncertain. However, the use of these generators in daily life tends to be much more expensive than for those who have a more reliable grid connection.

Energy consumption

Energy consumption in Africa is expected to steadily rise, along with other developing markets. However, a large part of the population including the rural and urban poor populations, has limited or no access to electricity. Africa faces a paradox where raising electricity rates will further segregate those with no access, however, without the influx of funds, the industry is unable to improve the necessary infrastructure which would reduce prices.

As of 2023, the monthly price for a basic Netflix subscription in Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia was **** U.S. dollars, the most expensive subscription among the selected African countries. In contrast, a basic account cost **** U.S. dollars per month in Egypt and **** U.S. dollars per month in Morocco. In South Africa, a basic Netflix subscription cost **** U.S. dollars per month, while the price for the standard and premium plans amounted to **** U.S. dollars and ***** U.S. dollars per month, respectively.

Remitting towards South Africa incurred an average cost of roughly **** percent over the course of 2025, a decrease when compared to the previous year. The cost of sending money to the African country was at its highest in 2013, and generally declined before decreasing significantly at the end of 2021. The source adds that incoming remittances to South Africa were more expensive than the average for the G20 countries, which was estimated at **** percent for sending money worth *** U.S. dollars.

Remitting from South Africa incurred a cost of roughly ***** percent in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease when compared to the previous year. The cost of sending money from the African country was at its highest in 2012, and generally declined since. The source adds that outgoing remittances from South Africa were noticeably more expensive than the average for the G20 countries, which was estimated at **** percent for sending money worth *** U.S. dollars.