Cost of Living inFianarantsoa, Madagascar
Image credit: Bernard Gagnon
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Madagascar: $1,657/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 78% 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
4.2 / 10
#120 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Madagascar 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 Fianarantsoa. 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.Fianarantsoa is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Madagascar.
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
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and public funding looks lighter.
Private care
LimitedThe private footprint is not very visible yet and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
33/100
2023
Physicians
0.17/1k
2022
Hospital beds
0.32/1k
2014
Out of pocket
27%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
63.8 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
445/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
23.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedThere is visible specialty depth help, but the private footprint is still thin and price transparency is still sparse.
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 Madagascar 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 | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
2015 annual wages in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar · 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 Fianarantsoa compared with the US?
Your money goes about 3.2x further in Fianarantsoa than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Madagascar here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Fianarantsoa cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Fianarantsoa is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 78% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Fianarantsoa. We are using the country-level cost index for Madagascar here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Fianarantsoa compare with New York City?
Rent in Fianarantsoa is about 93% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Madagascar here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Fianarantsoa?
Groceries in Fianarantsoa are about 76% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 85% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Madagascar here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Fianarantsoa
Fianarantsoa is a city in the southern highlands of Madagascar, with about 203,000 residents. It sits at about 1,200 meters elevation on a series of hills in the rice-growing heartland of the Betsileo people, and the surrounding region produces the country's principal high-altitude tea and the Lazan'i Betsileo and Côtes de Fianar wines, an unusual feature for tropical Africa. The economy is built on rice and viticulture, government services as the seat of Haute Matsiatra region, and a substantial academic presence centered on the University of Fianarantsoa. Malagasy and French are both official. The highland climate is temperate, with cool winters and warm, wet summers. The FCE railway from Fianarantsoa to the east coast at Manakara is one of the last operating metric-gauge mountain lines in Africa; the road north to Antananarivo takes eight to ten hours over winding mountain terrain.
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