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A country’s economy depends on a range of factors, including the cost of living. A low cost of living is crucial for a country’s economic stability, as it directly affects the standard of living, consumer purchasing power, and investment opportunities.
In a nutshell, a low cost of living helps create a positive economic growth cycle, where increased demand leads to increased production, employment, and ultimately, economic expansion.
It can also help attract foreign investment, one of the key reasons progressive countries aspire to make living and business conditions favorable in their country. Businesses are always looking for cost-effective locations to invest, and a low cost of living can make a country an attractive destination for foreign investors. A low cost of living can help to reduce the operational costs for businesses, making it easier for them to establish and run their operations in the country.
The importance of a low cost of living to a country’s economy cannot be overstated as it is key to the reduction of poverty and inequality. This article lists 10 African countries with the lowest cost of living according to Numbeo, one of the world’s most profound data and research platforms.
The overall index Numbeo comes up with is determined by the following factors, Cost of Living Index (Excluding Rent) which is a relative indicator of consumer goods prices, including groceries, restaurants, transportation, and utilities, rent index, groceries index, restaurants index, Cost of Living Plus Rent Index which is an estimation of consumer goods prices including rent, and local purchasing power.
To collect data, Numbeo relies on user inputs and manually collected data from authoritative sources (websites of supermarkets, taxi company websites, governmental institutions, newspaper articles, other surveys, etc.). Manually collected data from established sources are entered twice per year. A more comprehensive breakdown of the methodology is available on Numbeo’s website.
Below are 10 African countries with the lowest cost of living according to Numbeo
| Rank | Country | Cost of living index | Local purchasing power |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Egypt | 21.6 | 21.9 |
| 2. | Libya | 24.2 | 32.1 |
| 3. | Tunisia | 26.5 | 30.0 |
| 4. | Ghana | 26.7 | 17.2 |
| 5. | Algeria | 27.6 | 26.9 |
| 6. | Morocco | 29.3 | 33.6 |
| 7. | Rwanda | 30.0 | 30.0 |
| 8. | Tanzania | 30.8 | 20.5 |
| 9. | Nigeria | 30.9 | 8.4 |
| 10. | Uganda | 32.1 | 12.5 |
