Cost of living comparison

Bolivia

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Bolivia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 92.7% more expensive than Bolivia overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 70.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 99.0% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 71.6% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.3% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 56.1% more in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Bolivia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Bolivia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.00 BOB23.44	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+409.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 BOB53.06	$5.91 ZAR97.49	+30.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 BOB8.31	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+52.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BOB6.12	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+59.5%
Average			+149.4%

Bolivia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 70.4% more for groceries

	Bolivia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.97 BOB11.38	$1.07 ZAR17.59	+9.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.77 BOB20.69	$4.08 ZAR67.33	+130.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 BOB31.04	$4.58 ZAR75.49	+72.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.33 BOB15.50	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+93.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.28 BOB15.01	$2.31 ZAR38.16	+80.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 BOB9.46	$0.81 ZAR13.40	+0.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.36 BOB4.25	$0.74 ZAR12.13	+102.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.37 BOB4.34	$0.79 ZAR12.95	+111.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 BOB7.38	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+22.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 BOB3.65	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+106.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BOB3.60	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+113.8%
Average			+70.4%

Bolivia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Bolivia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.28 BOB26.70	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+140.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.33 BOB249.40	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+205.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$13,953.84 BOB163K	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+133.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.32 BOB85.57	$7.35 ZAR121.20	+0.4%
Average			+131.7%

Bolivia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 99.0% more for housing

	Bolivia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.45 BOB250.79	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+81.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$279.68 BOB3,270.08	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+50.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$198.23 BOB2,317.77	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+86.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$20.53 BOB240.01	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+414.3%
Average			+99.0%

Bolivia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 71.6% more for childcare

	Bolivia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$120.46 BOB1,408.41	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	+65.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,766.38 BOB32,345.61	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	+77.8%
Average			+71.6%

Bolivia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Bolivia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.39 BOB16.21	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+62.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.70 BOB19.90	$2.25 ZAR37.18	+32.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.72 BOB20.16	$3.16 ZAR52.13	+83.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.62 BOB264.50	$31.59 ZAR521.05	+39.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.70 BOB54.99	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+55.6%
Average			+50.3%

Bolivia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.1% more for clothing

	Bolivia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$30.62 BOB358.01	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+72.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.25 BOB341.97	$34.13 ZAR562.92	+16.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$52.01 BOB608.10	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+91.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.19 BOB657.00	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+54.1%
Average			+56.1%

Bolivia 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: Bolivia vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 10.9 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Bolivia is around the same size as South Africa.

Moving from Bolivia to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

195 people born in Bolivia live in South Africa.

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