Cost of Living inDire Dawa, Ethiopia
Image credit: Arne Hückelheim
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 Dire Dawa. 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.Dire Dawa 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 · 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 | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2021 annual wages in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia · 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 — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Dire Dawa compared with the US?
Your money goes about 5.4x further in Dire Dawa 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 Dire Dawa cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Dire Dawa is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 58% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Dire Dawa. 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 Dire Dawa compare with New York City?
Rent in Dire Dawa 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 Dire Dawa?
Groceries in Dire Dawa 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 Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa is a chartered city in eastern Ethiopia, in the country's eastern lowlands on the historic Addis Ababa–Djibouti railway corridor. It is administered as a federal city-region rather than a regional capital and was founded in 1902 as a railway town serving the French-built line to the port of Djibouti, which remains a defining piece of geography — the new electrified Addis Ababa–Djibouti standard-gauge railway also passes here. The economy mixes logistics, light manufacturing, cement, and regional trade. Amharic, Oromo, and Somali are all widely spoken given the city's position at a cultural crossroads. The climate is hot semi-arid with very hot dry summers, mild winters, and a short bimodal rainy season. Relocation drivers are sector-driven and largely tied to logistics, manufacturing, and the Djibouti-corridor trade economy.
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