Cost of living comparison

 South Africa
compared to
 Norway
Norway vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Norway is 2.1 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.8 times more in Norway
Groceries
pay 2.0 times more in Norway
Transportation
pay 76.9% more in Norway
Housing
pay 2.1 times more in Norway
Childcare
pay 54.0% more in Norway
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.9 times more in Norway
Clothing
pay 43.8% more in Norway

The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, and childcare in Norway are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Norway.

Norway vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

 
South Africa
Norway
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.97
ZAR164.10
$18.52
NOK194.31
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.77
ZAR87.25
$12.17
NOK127.65
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.95
ZAR17.46
$2.88
NOK30.20

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pay 2.0 times more for groceries

 
South Africa
Norway
Bread
1 loaf
$0.99
ZAR18.12
$3.03
NOK31.78
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.67
ZAR67.22
$5.10
NOK53.48
Milk (1 gallon) $4.20
ZAR76.79
$7.41
NOK77.79

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pay 76.9% more for transportation

 
South Africa
Norway
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.99
ZAR91.24
$7.32
NOK76.82
Monthly public transit pass $52.31
ZAR956.77
$67.29
NOK705.98
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,607.77
ZAR376,916.06
$32,441.53
NOK340,365.39

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

 
South Africa
Norway
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$41.37
ZAR756.65
$52.97
NOK555.70
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $382.55
ZAR6,996.91
$1,030.17
NOK10,808.18
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $326.35
ZAR5,968.89
$803.77
NOK8,432.85

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pay 54.0% more for childcare

 
South Africa
Norway
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $174.12
ZAR3,184.59
$272.16
NOK2,855.43
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $4,033.53
ZAR73,773.21
$6,113.04
NOK64,135.95

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pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports

 
South Africa
Norway
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.11
ZAR38.55
$8.83
NOK92.62
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.88
ZAR34.44
$4.64
NOK48.66
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.90
ZAR53.12
$13.25
NOK139.01

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pay 43.8% more for clothing

 
South Africa
Norway
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.72
ZAR872.71
$87.77
NOK920.90
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$32.06
ZAR586.36
$40.11
NOK420.79
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$90.39
ZAR1,653.21
$100.53
NOK1,054.70

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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: March 2025
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