Cost of Living inMahajanga, Madagascar
Image credit: Phantom401
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 Mahajanga. 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.Mahajanga 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
LimitedVisible specialty depth help, but the private footprint is not very visible yet and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
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 Mahajanga, 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 Mahajanga compared with the US?
Your money goes about 3.2x further in Mahajanga 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 Mahajanga cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Mahajanga is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 78% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Mahajanga. 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 Mahajanga compare with New York City?
Rent in Mahajanga 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 Mahajanga?
Groceries in Mahajanga 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 Mahajanga
Mahajanga is a port city on the northwest coast of Madagascar, with about 261,000 residents, sitting at the mouth of the Betsiboka River on the Mozambique Channel. It is the country's second-largest port after Toamasina and historically a major Indian Ocean trading post, with a significant Comorian and Indo-Pakistani merchant population. The economy mixes maritime trade, cement and sugar processing, fishing, and a modest beach economy along its long western seafront. The RN4 highway connects it to Antananarivo in roughly 10 to 12 hours by road, and there are domestic flights to the capital. The climate is tropical savanna, hot year-round with a pronounced rainy season. Malagasy and French dominate, English is limited.
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