11 Most Expensive Countries in Africa

What are the 11 most expensive countries in Africa? Africa is the continent with the most low-income countries and one wouldn’t expect to find too many expensive countries there, given such an overall unlucky turn of events. Still, there are a few highly modernized, contrastingly prosperous chunks of land. By looking at some of these developed African countries’ neighbors, this contrast in nations’ wealth is even more pronounced.

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This wealth inequality doesn’t have to go out of any respective country’s borders. In fact, the wide gap between the rich and poor can be observed in a number of African large cities, which is similar to the 11 most expensive countries in Asia. The most extreme examples currently are Luanda and N’Djamena – capitals of Angola and Chad respectively. These unlikely sources for extreme costs are driven by oil and their inhabitants are the ones paying the price. A severe lack of base goods in Luanda, which is a result of a still looming three-decade-long civil war, is driving the prices sky high. A can of soda for $30, hotel room for $500 per day and monthly rent of $15,000 for a three-bedroom apartment are up for grabs for the few with means to get them.

Still, the topic of this article isn’t the most expensive cities, but most expensive countries in Africa. As already seen from the above mentioned example, the African continent is full of contrasts when it comes to income. While some cities truly are expensive to live in, the entire country doesn’t necessarily have to be. We have taken into account the consumer price index for the most of 2015 (concluding with November where available), traced from trading economics. This is basically the only way to gauge a country’s average basic goods prices with precision as they tend to exhibit various rates in different parts of the respective country, and as we have seen, differences in Africa can be quite intimidating. Even more intimidating is the fact that most of the countries from our list of the 11 most expensive countries in Africa are still undeveloped, which puts large percentages of their population in a very real fight for survival.