Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Ethiopia

Ethiopia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Ethiopia is 97.8% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.1% less in Ethiopia
Groceries: pay 61.4% more in Ethiopia
Transportation: pay 29.7% less in Ethiopia
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Ethiopia
Childcare: pay 5.7 times more in Ethiopia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.9% more in Ethiopia
Clothing: pay 50.7% more in Ethiopia

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Ethiopia are more expensive than in South Africa. Expenses including transportation and restaurants are lower in Ethiopia. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ethiopia instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.1% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.97 ZAR164.10	$6.00 ETB788.24	-33.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 ZAR87.25	$6.24 ETB819.15	+30.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 ZAR17.46	$0.78 ETB103.13	-17.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR13.55	$0.50 ETB65.97	-32.2%
Average			-13.1%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 61.4% more for groceries

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 ZAR18.12	$1.20 ETB157.85	+21.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.67 ZAR67.22	$4.85 ETB637.61	+32.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 ZAR76.79	$6.08 ETB798.56	+44.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 ZAR40.73	$2.65 ETB348.03	+19.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.03 ZAR37.10	$5.65 ETB741.75	+178.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.38	$3.30 ETB433.71	+387.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.29	$0.51 ETB66.52	-18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR11.74	$1.08 ETB141.65	+68.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR12.78	$0.39 ETB50.78	-44.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.13	$0.31 ETB40.89	-43.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 ZAR11.13	$0.79 ETB104.33	+30.5%
Average			+61.4%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.7% less for transportation

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR91.24	$4.88 ETB641.06	-2.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.31 ZAR956.77	$10.00 ETB1,313.73	-80.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,607.77 ZAR376,916.06	$25,000.00 ETB3,284,315.50	+21.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.55 ZAR156.36	$3.67 ETB481.48	-57.1%
Average			-29.7%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 ZAR756.65	$171.17 ETB22,486.61	+313.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$382.55 ZAR6,996.91	$645.10 ETB84,748.48	+68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.35 ZAR5,968.89	$422.74 ETB55,536.76	+29.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.40 ZAR1,470.48	$124.84 ETB16,400.33	+55.3%
Average			+116.8%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of housing

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pay 5.7 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$174.12 ZAR3,184.59	$81.47 ETB10,703.36	-53.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,033.53 ZAR73,773.21	$43,916.67 ETB5,769,447.56	+988.8%
Average			+467.8%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.9% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.11 ZAR38.55	$1.00 ETB131.37	-52.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ZAR34.44	$1.15 ETB151.04	-38.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.90 ZAR53.12	$4.00 ETB525.49	+37.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.50 ZAR539.56	$90.59 ETB11,901.70	+207.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.62 ZAR121.10	$6.70 ETB880.20	+1.2%
Average			+30.9%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.7% more for clothing

	South Africa	Ethiopia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.72 ZAR872.71	$48.33 ETB6,349.68	+1.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.06 ZAR586.36	$75.17 ETB9,874.84	+134.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.39 ZAR1,653.21	$108.84 ETB14,298.96	+20.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.37 ZAR1,488.20	$119.32 ETB15,675.61	+46.6%
Average			+50.7%

South Africa vs. Ethiopia - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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