Cost of living comparison

Gabon

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Gabon Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 25.8% cheaper than Gabon overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.5% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 47.6% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 25.5% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 30.6% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 1.8% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.8% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 5.1% less in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Gabon Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.5% less for restaurants

	Gabon	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.07 FCFA9,995	$10.21 ZAR168.71	-40.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.36 FCFA8,995	$5.91 ZAR97.65	-61.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.71 FCFA1,000	$1.08 ZAR17.90	-36.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.42 FCFA833	$0.84 ZAR13.80	-41.3%
Average			-48.5%

Gabon vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.6% less for groceries

	Gabon	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 FCFA698	$1.07 ZAR17.62	-10.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.12 FCFA2,998	$4.08 ZAR67.44	-20.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$12.92 FCFA7,567	$4.58 ZAR75.61	-64.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.32 FCFA2,532	$2.56 ZAR42.35	-40.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.87 FCFA2,267	$2.31 ZAR38.22	-40.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 FCFA793	$0.81 ZAR13.42	-40.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.74 FCFA1,020	$0.74 ZAR12.15	-57.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.74 FCFA1,020	$0.79 ZAR12.97	-54.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 FCFA907	$0.77 ZAR12.73	-50.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 FCFA793	$0.64 ZAR10.64	-52.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.94 FCFA1,133	$0.66 ZAR10.87	-66.0%
Average			-47.6%

Gabon vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.5% more for transportation

	Gabon	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.01 FCFA2,350	$5.49 ZAR90.67	+36.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.94 FCFA27,486	$65.15 ZAR1,076.25	+38.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,019.42 FCFA17M	$32,517.32 ZAR537K	+12.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.25 FCFA4,245	$7.35 ZAR121.39	+1.4%
Average			+25.5%

Gabon vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.6% less for housing

	Gabon	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$64.01 FCFA37,481	$38.93 ZAR643.18	-39.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,024.21 FCFA600K	$421.37 ZAR6,961.07	-58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$426.76 FCFA250K	$369.24 ZAR6,099.94	-13.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.27 FCFA38,216	$105.57 ZAR1,743.99	+61.7%
Average			-30.6%

Gabon vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 1.8% more for childcare

	Gabon	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.70 FCFA99,950	$199.53 ZAR3,296.31	+16.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,547.83 FCFA3M	$4,917.78 ZAR81,241.91	-11.4%
Average			+1.8%

Gabon vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Gabon	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 FCFA600	$2.25 ZAR37.19	+119.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.97 FCFA3,498	$2.25 ZAR37.24	-62.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.56 FCFA1,499	$3.16 ZAR52.21	+23.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.01 FCFA37,481	$31.59 ZAR521.88	-50.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.48 FCFA2,621	$7.32 ZAR120.89	+63.4%
Average			-6.8%

Gabon vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.1% less for clothing

	Gabon	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$85.35 FCFA49,975	$52.66 ZAR869.92	-38.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.68 FCFA24,987	$34.13 ZAR563.81	-20.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$51.21 FCFA29,985	$99.75 ZAR1,647.89	+94.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.42 FCFA59,970	$86.61 ZAR1,430.75	-15.4%
Average			-5.1%

Gabon 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: Gabon vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 60.7% more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Gabon is about 4.5 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Gabon to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

373 people born in Gabon live in South Africa.

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