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 46.7, followed by Harare, in Zimbabwe, with 37.4. Morocco and South Africa were the countries with the most representatives among the 15 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 43.75 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 10 countries with the highest prices for data globally. By contrast, one gigabyte cost 0.38 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 3.31 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, 0.86 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 57.1 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived within a range of 25 kilometers from fiber networks.

Mobile connectivity

Over 530 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, 15 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.

Cabo Verde recorded the highest electricity price for households in Africa. As of June 2024, one kilowatt-hour costs around 0.35 U.S. dollars in the country. Kenya and Sierra Leone followed, with households paying 0.26 and 0.25 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 0.2, 0.2, and 0.19 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 50 percent of their citizens living in electrified areas, while in Central Africa it stood at around 31 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 99 percent of Mauritians and 96 percent of Seychellois reported having a supply that worked most or all the time.

Consumers in Central African Republic paid the highest price for gasoline in Africa as of February 2024. One liter of the fuel cost on average 1.82 U.S. dollars in the country. In Zimbabwe and Senegal, the retail price for gasoline octane-95 reached on average 1.64 U.S. dollars per liter, the second-highest in 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 0.031 U.S. dollar in Libya, among the cheapest in the world.

Damascus in Syria was ranked as the least expensive city worldwide in 2023, with an index score of 13 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. Buenos Aires is the Latin American city with the highest costs of living, as Argentina has recently faced an economic crisis and rapidly rising inflation. On the other hand, Singapore and Zurich were ranked the most expensive cities in the world.

The average retail electricity prices in Africa vary widely across the continent from 490 U.S. dollars per megawatt hour in Liberia to 24.4 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.

At 8.07 U.S. dollars, Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs in the world, according to the July 2024 Big Mac index. Concurrently, the cost of a Big Mac was 5.69 dollars in the U.S., and 6.06 U.S. dollars in the Euro area. What is the Big Mac index? The Big Mac index, published by The Economist, is a novel way of measuring whether the market exchange rates for different countries’ currencies are overvalued or undervalued. It does this by measuring each currency against a common standard – the Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald’s restaurants all over the world. Twice a year the Economist converts the average national price of a Big Mac into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at that point in time. As a Big Mac is a completely standardized product across the world, the argument goes that it should have the same relative cost in every country. Differences in the cost of a Big Mac expressed as U.S. dollars therefore reflect differences in the purchasing power of each currency. Is the Big Mac index a good measure of purchasing power parity? Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the idea that items should cost the same in different countries, based on the exchange rate at that time. This relationship does not hold in practice. Factors like tax rates, wage regulations, whether components need to be imported, and the level of market competition all contribute to price variations between countries. The Big Mac index does measure this basic point – that one U.S. dollar can buy more in some countries than others. There are more accurate ways to measure differences in PPP though, which convert a larger range of products into their dollar price. Adjusting for PPP can have a massive effect on how we understand a country’s economy. The country with the largest GDP adjusted for PPP is China, but when looking at the unadjusted GDP of different countries, the U.S. has the largest economy.

This statistic shows the 20 countries* with the highest infant mortality rate in 2024. An estimated 101.3 infants per 1,000 live births died in the first year of life in Afghanistan in 2024. Infant and child mortality Infant mortality usually refers to the death of children younger than one year. Child mortality, which is often used synonymously with infant mortality, is the death of children younger than five. Among the main causes are pneumonia, diarrhea – which causes dehydration – and infections in newborns, with malnutrition also posing a severe problem. As can be seen above, most countries with a high infant mortality rate are developing countries or emerging countries, most of which are located in Africa. Good health care and hygiene are crucial in reducing child mortality; among the countries with the lowest infant mortality rate are exclusively developed countries, whose inhabitants usually have access to clean water and comprehensive health care. Access to vaccinations, antibiotics and a balanced nutrition also help reducing child mortality in these regions. In some countries, infants are killed if they turn out to be of a certain gender. India, for example, is known as a country where a lot of girls are aborted or killed right after birth, as they are considered to be too expensive for poorer families, who traditionally have to pay a costly dowry on the girl’s wedding day. Interestingly, the global mortality rate among boys is higher than that for girls, which could be due to the fact that more male infants are actually born than female ones. Other theories include a stronger immune system in girls, or more premature births among boys.

Among all countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Turkey, followed by Korea, had the highest rate of Caesarean section births (or C-sections) in 2020. At that time, the rate of C-sections in Turkey was 584 per 1,000 live births. Among global regions, Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest percentage of births that were delivered by C-section, while West and Central Africa had the lowest rates of Cesarean section births.

Cesarean section costs

Cesarean sections are a form of birth where the baby is taken out through a surgical incision in the abdomen rather than a natural vaginal birth. The cost of a Cesarean section delivery varies globally. The United States has some of the highest costs globally for Cesarean section deliveries, while South Africa has some of the lowest costs. In the United States, C-sections are significantly more expensive than a delivery by vaginal birth.

High C-sections rates in the U.S.

While not the highest, the U.S. has a high C-section rate among OECD countries and very few of the hospitals are meeting national targets for the number of Cesarean sections performed. Over the past 20 years the C-section rate in the U.S. has gradually been increasing with more stable trends in the past few years. It has been reported that many of the C-sections performed in the U.S. are elective and not necessary. Often the risks of C-sections are greater than the benefits, when performed as an elective procedure.

Average cost of cannabis in Africa was highest in Lesotho as of 2019. That year, a gram of cannabis in Lesotho cost an average of 12 U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the average cost of one gram of cannabis ranged between 0.4 to 1 U.S. dollars in countries like Zimbabwe, Ghana and the Kingdom of Eswatini. Zambia and Malawi had the lowest average cost of cannabis at 0.2 U.S. dollars per gram.