10 African countries with the lowest cost of living in 2024

One of the key benefits of having a low cost of living is that it attracts international investment. When personnel, resources, and general living expenditures are reduced, firms find it more cost-effective to establish operations. This, in turn, increases foreign direct investment (FDI), thus promoting economic development and employment creation.

Furthermore, a low cost of living benefits local businesses by lowering entrance barriers to numerous industries. This offers a favorable climate for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to thrive. As the cost of conducting business falls, people are more willing to take risks, establish their businesses, and contribute to the diversification of the economy.

In practice having a low cost of living stimulates a friendly business ecosystem, alongside the massive advantage of living in a region where goods and services are well within the means of the average citizen.

With that said, below are the 10 African countries with the lowest cost of living. The data below is courtesy of the Numbeo, one of the world’s most profound data and research platforms.

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.