Cost of Living inBahir Dar, Ethiopia
Image credit: A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific Northwest
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Ethiopia: $2,892/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 58% lower 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
3.9 / 10
#128 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Ethiopia 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 Bahir Dar. 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.Bahir Dar is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Ethiopia.
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
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
33/100
2023
Physicians
0.14/1k
2023
Hospital beds
0.33/1k
2016
Out of pocket
46%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
67.6 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
195/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
25.2/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedPrice transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.
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 Ethiopia yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI Β· 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 | β |
| Agriculture & Farming | β |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | β |
| Construction | β |
| Education | β |
| Finance & Insurance | β |
| Healthcare & Social Work | β |
| Hospitality & Food Service | β |
| Information & Technology | β |
| Manufacturing | β |
| Mining & Quarrying | β |
| Other Services | β |
| Professional & Scientific Services | β |
| Public Administration & Defence | β |
| Real Estate | β |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | β |
| Transport & Logistics | β |
| Utilities | β |
2021 annual wages in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Β· Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page β no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Bahir Dar compared with the US?
Your money goes about 5.8x further in Bahir Dar than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Ethiopia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Bahir Dar cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Bahir Dar is cheaper overall than New York City β overall living costs are about 58% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Bahir Dar. We are using the country-level cost index for Ethiopia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Bahir Dar compare with New York City?
Rent in Bahir Dar is about 82% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Ethiopia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Bahir Dar?
Groceries in Bahir Dar are about 56% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 77% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Ethiopia here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar is the capital of the Amhara Region in northwestern Ethiopia, on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. It is a regional capital rather than the national one and serves as the principal administrative, university, and tourism center of the region, with the Blue Nile Falls about thirty kilometers downstream and the monasteries of Lake Tana on nearby islands. The economy mixes government, Bahir Dar University, agriculture and fisheries on the lake, and a growing textile and light-industry base in the Bahir Dar Industrial Park. Amharic is the working language, with English used in higher education. The climate is moderated by altitude at around 1,800 meters, with warm dry winters, a single rainy season from June to September, and mild temperatures year-round.
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