Top 10 major African countries with the lowest cost of living in 2025

A low cost of living translates to basic necessities that are affordable including food, housing, transportation, and healthcare.

For major economies, this decreases poverty and helps to close the wealth gap, ensuring that economic expansion benefits a wider range of population.

When residents can fulfill their basic necessities without incurring financial hardship, they are more likely to contribute constructively to the economy, resulting in a virtuous cycle of stability and expansion.

A low cost of living is also an effective way to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Investors are more inclined to invest in economies with lower operational and labor expenses.

Furthermore, firms seek to establish operations in areas where employees may enjoy a good quality of life at a reasonable cost.

Lower living expenses provide households with more disposable income, which boosts domestic consumption.

This, in turn, increases demand for locally produced goods and services, resulting in employment growth and economic diversification.

With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the lowest cost of living, as per data from Numbeo.

PS: Numbeo primarily covers major African economies and as such only 23 African countries were indexed in its data portal.