Likasi

Cost of Living inLikasi, DR Congo

Haut-Katanga, DR Congo636KLow income

Image credit: MONUSCO/Abel Kavanagh

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 2.27x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). DR Congo: $1,602/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 12% 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.

Overall
0.9x as far
Prices are 12% higher than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
No comparison yet
Relative cost data is not available.
Groceries
No comparison yet
Relative cost data is not available.
Restaurants
No comparison yet
Relative cost data is not available.

Income Category

Low
World Bank GNI

Happiness

3.3 / 10

#137 globally

GDP per Capita

$1,602
PPP, International $

City Population

636K

Child Education

Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for DR Congo 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 Likasi. 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.Likasi is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in DR Congo.

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.

2 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Limited

Coverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and hospital capacity looks tighter weigh on this rating.

Public care

Limited

Public coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.

Private care

Limited

The tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.

UHC coverage

41/100

2023

Physicians

0.21/1k

2022

Hospital beds

0.80/1k

2006

Out of pocket

38%

2023

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

62.1 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

427/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

23.6/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Limited

Price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Published self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.

Facility coverage

Hospital: 2

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in DR Congo yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

Railroad Hospital
Hospital · Emergency
Hopital Général Daco
Hospital · Emergency

System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01

Safety & Governance

City-level perceived-crime data is not sourced for Likasi yet. Showing DR Congo national safety and governance signals until a matched city row lands.

Street Safety

Safety Index12/100
Crime Index88/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability-2.08

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Agriculture & Farming
Manufacturing

2016 annual wages in Likasi, DR Congo · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (sector aggregate) (national)

Price Comparison vs. US

budget hotel
$27.50Estimated24% cheaper
International School (Annual)
$13500.00Estimated57% cheaper
luxury hotel
$175.00Estimated63% cheaper

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

evisa

US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.

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 Likasi compared with the US?

Your money goes about 2.3x further in Likasi than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for DR Congo here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Likasi cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Likasi is more expensive overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 12% more expensive than the global benchmark (New York City) for Likasi. We are using the country-level cost index for DR Congo here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Likasi compare with New York City?

Rent in Likasi is about 100% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for DR Congo here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Likasi?

Groceries in Likasi are about 100% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 100% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for DR Congo here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Likasi

Likasi is a mining city in Haut-Katanga province in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, sitting on the high plateau between Lubumbashi and Kolwezi in the copper-cobalt belt that supplies much of the world's battery-grade cobalt. The local economy is built entirely on copper and cobalt mining and processing, with major operations tied to Chinese state-owned firms plus a constellation of artisanal miners. Relocators are realistically limited to mining engineers, geologists, or specialized service contractors on rotating assignments, with French essential alongside Swahili. Trade-offs include the political and security volatility of the broader Katanga region, intermittent grid power, limited specialist medical care that routes to Johannesburg, and the practical international gateway at Lubumbashi airport about 130 kilometers south.