Africa · Maputo
Cost of living in Mozambique
Mozambique is 61% cheaper than the US, ranking #122 of 203 countries we cover for cost of living.
World Bank data through 2024 · last reviewed 2026-06.
What drives the cost here
Price levels by category, where the world average = 100. Above 100 is pricier than the global norm; below it is cheaper.
In Mozambique, food & groceries is the priciest category relative to the world (82), while housing & utilities is the most affordable (37).
Category price levels: World Bank ICP 2021 (world average = 100) · source
What your money is worth here
A $100,000 US lifestyle would cost roughly $39,000 in Mozambique.
Quality of life
45/100 · #180 of 198Beyond cost — health, safety, and connectivity. The score is a transparent, equal-weight composite of the verified metrics below (see methodology).
About Mozambique
In the first half of the second millennium A.D., northern Mozambican port towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India. The Portuguese were able to wrest much of the coastal trade from Arab Muslims in the centuries after 1500, and they set up their own colonies. Portugal did not relinquish Mozambique until 1975. Large-scale emigration, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development until the mid-1990s.
Read the full background
The ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free-market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement between FRELIMO and rebel Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) forces ended the fighting in 1992. In 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim CHISSANO stepped down after 18 years in office. His elected successor, Armando GUEBUZA, served two terms and then passed executive power to Filipe NYUSI in 2015. RENAMO’s residual armed forces intermittently engaged in a low-level insurgency after 2012, but a 2016 cease-fire eventually led to the two sides signing a comprehensive peace deal in 2019. Since 2017, violent extremists -- who an official ISIS media outlet recognized as ISIS's network in Mozambique for the first time in 2019 -- have been conducting attacks against civilians and security services in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. In 2021, Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community deployed forces to support Mozambique’s efforts to counter the extremist group.
Background from the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived 2026-06-03.
Frequently asked
Is Mozambique expensive to live in?
Mozambique is 61% cheaper than the US, ranking #122 of the 203 countries we track. Its most expensive category relative to the world is food & groceries; housing & utilities costs the least.
How much money do you need to live in Mozambique?
A lifestyle that costs $100,000 in the United States would cost roughly $39,000 in Mozambique, going by overall price levels. The salary translator turns your own figure into a local equivalent.
Is Mozambique cheaper than the United States?
Yes. Its overall price level is 39.1, against 100 for the United States.
What is the quality of life in Mozambique?
Mozambique scores 45 out of 100 on our quality-of-life index (#180 of 198), a composite of life expectancy, safety, health, and connectivity, with life expectancy around 64 years.
Every number, sourced.
We cite the exact source and year for each figure. Derived values are computed at build time, never hand-entered.
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