Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 4.5% more expensive than Bosnia and Herzegovina overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.0% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 10.1% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 11.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 43.2% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 6.3% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.3% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 13.3% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.0% less for restaurants

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.34 BAM12.38	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+27.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.86 BAM11.57	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-25.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.75 BAM2.95	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-41.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.19 BAM2.01	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-32.6%
Average			-18.0%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.1% less for groceries

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 BAM1.99	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-15.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.46 BAM7.51	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-12.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.14 BAM8.67	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-15.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 BAM4.78	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-17.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.56 BAM6.01	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-40.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 BAM1.11	$0.73 ZAR12.46	+10.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 BAM1.33	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-17.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 BAM1.35	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-14.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 BAM1.43	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-16.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 BAM0.84	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+16.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 BAM0.92	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+10.4%
Average			-10.1%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.0% more for transportation

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.71 BAM9.63	$4.92 ZAR84.25	-13.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.63 BAM55.02	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+72.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,166.31 BAM45,809.25	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-21.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.74 BAM14.73	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+6.9%
Average			+11.0%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.2% more for housing

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.02 BAM43.87	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+51.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$253.79 BAM427.95	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+59.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.51 BAM329.68	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+84.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.85 BAM191.98	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-22.6%
Average			+43.2%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 6.3% more for childcare

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.70 BAM311.46	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-6.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,341.65 BAM5,634.86	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+18.6%
Average			+6.3%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.03 BAM3.43	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+7.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 BAM2.58	$2.05 ZAR35.06	+34.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.71 BAM6.26	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-20.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.92 BAM48.77	$30.26 ZAR517.83	+4.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.04 BAM8.50	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+35.9%
Average			+12.3%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.3% less for clothing

	Bosnia and Herzegovina	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.52 BAM113.85	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-24.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.28 BAM56.13	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-1.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.97 BAM160.14	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.50 BAM186.33	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-26.0%
Average			-13.3%

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. South Africa - 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: December 2025

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