Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Uganda

Kampala vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Kampala is 63.0% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 54.6% less in Kampala
Groceries: pay 38.3% less in Kampala
Transportation: pay 23.2% less in Kampala
Housing: pay 80.0% less in Kampala
Childcare: pay 57.9% less in Kampala
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.4% less in Kampala
Clothing: pay 71.5% less in Kampala

Expenses including housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Kampala.

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Kampala vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kampala instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 54.6% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$2.45 UGX10,138	-70.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$7.36 UGX30,413	-22.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.37 UGX1,521	-68.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.27 UGX1,106	-35.6%
Average			-54.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.3% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$0.91 UGX3,742	-44.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$2.18 UGX8,997	-62.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$2.90 UGX11,960	-60.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.58 UGX6,521	-54.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$2.05 UGX8,461	-53.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.95 UGX3,934	-15.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.57 UGX2,350	-39.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.59 UGX2,427	-30.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.54 UGX2,223	-23.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.56 UGX2,299	+0.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.56 UGX2,299	+4.4%
Average			-38.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.2% less for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$5.31 UGX21,932	+46.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	$42.68 UGX176K	+60.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$7,361.98 UGX30M	-75.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$2.94 UGX12,165	-61.4%
Average			-23.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of transportation

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pay 80.0% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$34.66 UGX143K	-60.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$482.64 UGX2M	-75.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$167.36 UGX691K	-88.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$53.08 UGX219K	-64.1%
Average			-80.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of housing

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pay 57.9% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$251.43 UGX1M	-68.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$8,279.19 UGX34M	-44.1%
Average			-57.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$1.23 UGX5,069	-89.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$2.53 UGX10,457	-57.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$2.45 UGX10,138	-63.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$55.21 UGX228K	-42.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$7.36 UGX30,413	-50.8%
Average			-64.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.5% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Kampala
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$13.80 UGX57,024	-77.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$12.88 UGX53,222	-73.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$31.90 UGX132K	-71.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$43.25 UGX179K	-60.7%
Average			-71.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kampala - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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