Cost of living comparison

Bahrain

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Bahrain Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 22.2% cheaper than Bahrain overall.

Restaurants: pay 15.9% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 6.1% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 34.5% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 42.1% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 52.4% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.8% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 8.7% less in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Bahrain Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 15.9% more for restaurants

	Bahrain	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.42 BHD2.430	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+59.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.93 BHD3.000	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-25.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 BHD0.430	$1.08 ZAR17.88	-3.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 BHD0.200	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+57.8%
Average			+15.9%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.1% less for groceries

	Bahrain	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 BHD0.450	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-9.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.29 BHD1.620	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-4.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.16 BHD2.330	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-25.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.19 BHD0.830	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+16.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.75 BHD1.040	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-15.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 BHD0.440	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-30.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 BHD0.370	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-25.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.01 BHD0.380	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-22.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BHD0.280	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+4.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 BHD0.160	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+51.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BHD0.200	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+24.3%
Average			-6.1%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.5% more for transportation

	Bahrain	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.10 BHD0.800	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+161.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.90 BHD16.250	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+51.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,877.63 BHD12,832.000	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	-4.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$27.42 BHD10.380	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-73.2%
Average			+34.5%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.1% less for housing

	Bahrain	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.07 BHD13.660	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+8.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$937.18 BHD354.980	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	-55.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$670.90 BHD254.120	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	-45.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 BHD37.630	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+6.3%
Average			-42.1%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 52.4% less for childcare

	Bahrain	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$442.48 BHD167.600	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	-54.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,792.89 BHD3,709.300	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-49.8%
Average			-52.4%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Bahrain	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.03 BHD2.660	$2.25 ZAR37.13	-68.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.97 BHD1.880	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-54.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.94 BHD1.870	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-36.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.02 BHD32.960	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-63.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.35 BHD4.300	$7.32 ZAR120.70	-35.5%
Average			-54.8%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.7% less for clothing

	Bahrain	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.27 BHD23.210	$52.66 ZAR868.55	-14.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.96 BHD18.170	$34.13 ZAR562.92	-28.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.18 BHD33.400	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+13.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.19 BHD32.650	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+0.5%
Average			-8.7%

Bahrain vs. South Africa - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Bahrain vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 29.4 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Bahrain is about 1,604 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Bahrain to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

197 people born in Bahrain live in South Africa.

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