The food we consume plays a crucial role in determining our overall quality of life. It is a fundamental necessity for our survival. However, the cost of food can often strain the finances of individuals worldwide. When food prices are high in a country, it becomes challenging for many people to afford nutritious and healthy meals. This, in turn, can have a negative impact on their health and well-being.
It is no wonder that areas with easy access to affordable food are highly sought after. However, there is a complex relationship between the cost of living and the availability of reasonably priced food. People tend to gravitate towards areas with abundant job opportunities. As these economic centers become more populated, businesses, not just those in the food industry, take advantage by increasing the prices of their goods and services. This leads to a paradoxical situation where demand and prices both rise. Nevertheless, there are regions that have successfully tackled this complex issue.
In essence, the more desirable a region is, the more likely it is that food prices will be high. Therefore, it is always a pleasant surprise when a city considered an economic hub manages to keep food prices in check.
Numbeo, a renowned data and research platform, calculates data to determine the cities with the highest cost of living globally. The price of food, including groceries and restaurant meals, is one of the factors used in compiling this list. Numbeo relies on user inputs and manually gathered information from reliable sources such as grocery websites, taxi business websites, governmental organizations’ websites, newspaper articles, and other surveys to gather data for its indexes. For a more detailed explanation of the process, you can visit Numbeo’s website.
Now, let’s take a look at the list of the top 10 African cities where food is affordable. The food price index is based on the average of Numbeo’s groceries index and restaurant index, as calculated by Business Insider. Previously, Business Insider Africa had released a list of the top 10 African cities where it is most expensive to purchase food.
Rank | City | Country | Food price index | Groceries Index | Restaurant Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Giza | Egypt | 16.1 | 17.8 | 14.4 |
2. | Alexandria | Egypt | 17.8 | 18.7 | 16.9 |
3. | Sousse | Tunisia | 20.6 | 26.8 | 14.5 |
4. | Cairo | Egypt | 20.9 | 22.7 | 19.0 |
5. | Oran | Algeria | 23.9 | 31.2 | 16.7 |
6. | Tunis | Tunisia | 24.0 | 30.1 | 17.9 |
7. | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | 25.2 | 28.3 | 22.0 |
8. | Kigali | Rwanda | 25.6 | 28.9 | 22.2 |
9. | Tripoli | Libya | 25.7 | 24.9 | 26.5 |
10. | Kampala | Uganda | 26.5 | 28.9 | 24.1 |