Numbeo, the Crowd sourced online database that provides information on the cost of living and quality of life, has released its updated mid-year cost of living index for Southern Africa. Namibia has been ranked third in the region, behind Botswana and South Africa.
The platform utilizes New York City as its baseline, with an index value of 100%.
Within the Southern African region, Botswana leads the ranking with a cost of living index of 41.7. South Africa follows at 32, with Namibia closely behind at 31.3.
According to them, when looking at specific categories, Namibia has the highest rent index at 13.5, and South Africa and Botswana follow with 11.9 and 6.1, respectively. This indicates the average cost of renting apartments is on average 86.5% lower than those in New York City. Meanwhile, the cost of living plus rent index shows Botswana at 26.2, Namibia at 24.5 and South Africa at 23.3.
Botswana has the highest groceries index at 29.9, followed by South Africa at 29.9 and Namibia at 13.5. South Africa leads in restaurant cost with an index of 29.7, while Namibia and Botswana is at 27.9 and 26.6 respectively.
Regarding the local purchasing power index, South Africa demonstrated the highest at 115.2, followed by Namibia with 75.1 and Botswana with 72.1. This index indicates that Namibian residents can, on average, afford 24.9% fewer goods and services than those in New York City.
Meanwhile, across the 24 African countries recorded in the database, Botswana ranked fourth while Namibia and South Africa placed 11th and 12th, respectively.