Cost of Living inCotonou, Benin
Image credit: MVN
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Benin: $3,901/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 22% higher than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
4.4 / 10
#114 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Benin yet. Quality, expat-access, instruction language, and tuition will appear here once verified.
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Cotonou. We publish this section only when we can tie it to local job-board, agency, or country fallback evidence.
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Cotonou is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Benin.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and hospital capacity looks tighter weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedPublic coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.
Private care
MixedA clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
38/100
2023
Physicians
0.22/1k
2023
Hospital beds
0.43/1k
2021
Out of pocket
42%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
61.0 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
518/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
27.2/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedA visible private hospital base help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Benin yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2022 annual wages in Cotonou, Benin · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
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Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Cotonou compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.8x further in Cotonou than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Benin here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Cotonou cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Cotonou is more expensive overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 22% more expensive than the global benchmark (New York City) for Cotonou. We are using the country-level cost index for Benin here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Cotonou compare with New York City?
Rent in Cotonou is about 72% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Benin here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Cotonou?
Groceries in Cotonou are about 53% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 52% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Benin here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Cotonou
Cotonou is the de facto economic capital and largest city of Benin in West Africa, sitting on a coastal sandbar between Lake Nokoue and the Bight of Benin, and home to the country's main port and international airport even though Porto-Novo holds the official capital title. The economy revolves around port logistics serving landlocked Niger and Burkina Faso, the massive Dantokpa market, and a large informal motorbike-taxi sector known as zemidjans. Relocators are typically tied to development work, oil-services firms, or the Francophone West African diplomatic circuit, with French essential alongside Fon. Trade-offs include heavy seasonal flooding from October rains, dense traffic, and a malaria risk that requires year-round prophylaxis.
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